


A Stranger's Heart Without a Home

by HeartlessAngel



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Comedy, Drama, Dubious Consent, Host Clubs, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life, Yakuza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-01-23 22:06:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 57,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1581122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartlessAngel/pseuds/HeartlessAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryouta Kise, a wealthy young man from Tokyo’s upper crust, falls head over heels for the alluring number one host Aomine and thinks he will stop at nothing to get Aomine’s attention, but in his pursuit for whom he thinks is everything, he ends up losing himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Road kill

**Author's Note:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)  
> General warnings: language, violence, consensual sex, sexual harassment and assault (will warn for it properly), as well as implied dubcon.

* * *

Tōō had started out as a small-venue host club in an almost unknown part of Ni-chome, Tokyo. That was before the era of the Uncrowned Kings that had brought the club great profit, as well as a high-end clientele that craved discretion. It wasn't always easy to maintain that part of the bargain, especially when reporters of all kinds started to lurk around in hopes of destroying someone's career in public.

Daiki Aomine was their most prominent host. He not only had the looks to seduce men and women alike, he also had a certain air of _je ne sais quoi_ that made him alluring and compelling; he was worth a large sum of money that only few could pay.

He was one of the few hosts that made so called "house calls." He rarely saw the inside of any of his clients' houses. He saw more hotel rooms than anything else, and none of his clients splurged on hotel rooms like Ryouta Kise, son of the conservative Isami Kise, mayor of Special Ward Chūō, one of the most important wards of Tokyo.

It was risky, and borderline stupid, to meet now when Isami Kise was in the midst of campaigning to be elected governor of Tokyo. The reporters were hungry for scandals, and the act taking place in room 1356 at Radisson Blue Hotel was nothing short of a scandal.

Aomine stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a crisp white bathrobe in the finest of cotton fabric. He looked over to the king-sized bed where Ryouta Kise lay, naked as the day he was born, cuffed to the headboard. His chest heaved up and down with heavy breaths. The sound of the vibrator was almost completely muffled, but Aomine could still hear it. Kise tugged at the cuffs, shuddering, and arching his back ever so slightly. His skin had a light sheen of sweat in the dim light of the room. His bangs clung to his forehead, and beside him, on the nightstand next to the condoms, lube and toys, lay a thick wad of cash.

"Are you ready for me yet, Kise?" Aomine walked over to the bed and sat down beside Kise. He ran the fingertips of his left hand down Kise's chest and got a small whimper out of him when he passed his thumb over one pink, almost painfully erect nipple. Aomine had soaked it in warming lube and teased it into a perky bulb with mouth and tongue before he had gone in for a quick shower. Kise's body was naturally quite sensitive to Aomine's touches as it was, and now he felt jolts of electricity run down his body when Aomine leaned down to suckle at his nipples harder. He ran his tongue over each and pinched at them teasingly with his fingers.

"Dai...ki...please...ngh, hurry…"

Aomine ignored him once he sat back up. He watched his hand move down Kise's torso in feather-light touches that made Kise shiver and toss his head back. Aomine moved a finger around Kise's cum-stained stomach.

"How many times have you come already?" Aomine pressed his fingers around the outer-most part of the vibrator deeply embedded inside of Kise. He pulled and pushed on it slightly; it was enough to have Kise arch his back. A lewd, shaky moan escaped his lips as he spilled over himself once more.

The cuffs rattled when Kise fell back on the bed, exhausted, but still craving more: the main course that he had been longing for all evening.

"What a mess you've made, Kise." Aomine said, in a low and gentle voice. He reached for a small towel and wiped the cum off Kise's stomach, and bent down to lick off some droplets. "Do you like the vibrator more than you like me? These things come cheap, y'know. You'd save a fortune."

Kise shook his head quickly.

"You," he breathed. "I like you more."

"Really?" Aomine unrobed. He climbed up on the bed, and spread Kise's legs wider, taking his place in between. He smirked. Kise was ogling him through half-open eyes, soaking him in with a starved look. His body was still over-sensitive from his orgasms; Aomine only needed to touch him to make him mewl with need, but there was something about Kise that made Aomine want to be crueler. He pushed the vibrator deep into Kise again. He moved it, in and out, sloppily and quickly.

"Nn-ahh!...ah..."

"You hear that? That's a great sound, isn't it? That'll be you and me in a second, Kise."

The buzzing and viscous sound of the vibrator being pulled in and out coupled with Kise's gasps for air, and it was nearly as erotic as the money on the nightstand.

Aomine pulled the vibrator out in one swift move, and turned it off.

"So, tell me what you want, Kise." Aomine leaned over the sated blond, and brushed his bangs aside slightly, only to see them slide back. 

"K-kiss me."

Aomine complied; just not in the way he knew Kise wanted him to. Aomine was straight to the point. There was nothing romantic about the kiss. It didn't start out slowly or gently; it wasn't romantic. It was bruising, overpowering, and above all, lewd. His job with Kise was to satisfy him sexually, but Kise had a tendency to forget that. What they did was according to an unwritten contract that he had agreed to from the first time he paid Aomine for any of his services. Aomine could either be romantic, flirtatious and seductive, or fuck his brains out, but never both at the same time. Both were a recipe for disaster. There weren't many things as annoyingly time consuming and disgusting as clients that fell in love, and Kise looked the type of a guy that could potentially fall in love. It had been written in that star-struck look of his the first time he stepped foot into Tōō.

As Aomine broke the kiss, remaining close while he angled Kise's hips, he looked him straight in the eye. He rubbed the tip of his condom-covered cock against Kise's wet and welcoming hole before he pushed inside. He didn't stop until he was all the way inside, buried in the delicious, wet heat, stretching Kise.

"Look at me," Aomine breathed when Kise closed his eyes briefly to keep a whimper in when Aomine pulled back and pushed in again hard.

Kise rode on the fine line between pleasure and pain, and their safe word didn't seem to be anywhere near his conscious mind. He seemed mesmerized by the blue eyes looking back at him, hazed with lust and need. Being looked at like that by someone like Aomine made this worth every yen, and it still wasn't everything.

Aomine moved his hips fervently, gripping Kise's hips tightly, angling him for every thrust, until Aomine could no longer tell where he was. It was in these moments that the money faded from his mind, and it didn't matter who was writhing underneath him; this right here, was by far, the best of any and all moments with clients. Aomine closed his eyes tightly, grunting with every thrust, until he froze, coming hard, and pressing himself up against the spot he knew made Kise see stars.

Kise's voice broke with the moan that escaped him. He was trembling where he lay, every nerve in his body was on fire.

As soon as Aomine had collected himself, he reached for the key to the handcuffs on the nightstand, and helped Kise out of them. Kise had nearly drawn blood from struggling against the cuffs, but he didn't complain about it hurting when Aomine placed his hands onto his chest. Kise managed to grab a hold of Aomine's wrist before he pulled back. He watched Aomine intently, slowly kissing Aomine's fingers, his tongue darting out to lick at his fingertips.

"Don't leave yet," he said, in a whisper.

"I don't do sleepovers," Aomine said easily with the intention of pulling out, but Kise ran his legs around him tighter and suckled at a finger with a low hum.

"What are you like when you're not doing this for money?"

"Dull."

"Can you be dull with me?" Kise asked innocently, and there was a certain eagerness in his eyes; anticipation maybe, but Aomine hoped that he was reading too much into it.

"No. You can't afford me dull." Aomine leaned over Kise again, and placed a soft kiss on his chin. "Now, let me go."

"You're still hard, and I still have some left in me."

Aomine smirked. "I've milked you for everything you've got, vanilla boy. Don't overreach."

Kise ran his arms around Aomine's neck and pulled him in close. "I won't be able to buy you anymore after tonight, so...please…"

Aomine would never considered himself a sap, but there was something about that earnest request that he felt he could fulfill. Maybe it was the glimpse of the money on the nightstand, and the thought that he had fooled this guy into paying ridiculous amounts for nights like these that made him think that he could give him one last show of customer service.

-x-

It was mid-week, nearly five days before payday. The club wasn't as swarmed with guests as usual, which meant that the hosts only made three rounds of customers each, before it was time to close down and help with the cleaning up, even the more successful hosts. For Aomine this usually meant making a quick check around the club to make sure that there weren't any creeps left and then he'd go to make house calls, but even that part of business had been a bit slow as of late due to the elections coming up. Men of power rarely wanted to get in trouble mid-campaign, even businessmen, and it seemed that most had found some kind of self-control because Aomine wasn't the only one with slow business.

He had heard rumors about similar situations for the other hosts around in Ni-chome, even the hosts in Shinjuku were facing a some difficulties.

With the situation being what it was, Aomine had to do more than a check around the club after closing hours.

"Aomine, there's a truckload of trash waiting to be taken outside. Can you get that?" Imayoshi asked from behind the counter where he stood counting tonight's earnings.

"If it's a truckload, why don't you get a truck to take it out? I'm not carrying that stuff around; the smell sticks."

"Because, you dimwit, I'm telling you to take the trash out. Weren't you telling your girls that you hadn't gotten any time at the gym today? Here's your chance. Out. Exercise!"

"Don't eavesdrop on my conversations with my clients," Aomine said from where he sat and put his feet up on the table.

Despite Ni-chome being the gay district of Tokyo, girls often made the trip it out here too, especially to clubs with renowned hosts, and money was money.

"Aomine," Imayoshi, said through his teeth. "Now."

"I'm going, I'm going. Geez."

Hundreds of neon signs illuminated the main street. Some of that light leaked into the alleyway by Tōō where they kept a large garbage dumpster next to metallic trash cans. The garbage truck drove past here twice a week to keep the rodents to a minimum, and to keep the stench from spreading around in the city. After all customers rarely went to places where there was a pungent smell of trash.

Aomine walked out, carrying three bags of trash at a time. He threw them all in the dumpster and walked back in for more. Imayoshi hadn't been exaggerating when he said 'a truckload.' The few lights out in the alleyway started to flicker. Aomine looked up with a frown. He wasn't one to scare easily, but he had seen enough flickering lights in horror movies to know what that could mean.

"Hey, Imayoshi! You better change the light bulb on this piece of shit lamp pole tomorrow, or I won't be doing this again!" Aomine called from where he stood in the doorway. He didn't get an answer, not that he expected one. "The whole place is falling apart," he mumbled as he tossed the garbage bags. "Number one host in this joint, probably in this whole area, and he's got me throwing the trash out…"

The lights flickered again, and Aomine stopped in his tracks when he swore that he had heard a pained moan.

"Hello?"

Aomine looked around. He squinted when he tried to look further into the area that the light of the lamp didn't quite reach. There it was again. He followed the sound, no longer afraid, but worried. He had been on this scene long enough to recognize that kind of moan in an alleyway, at this hour and place. It wasn't sex. No one around here was stupid enough to jeopardize getting caught for prostitution being this near to their workplace. When nature called, there were always love hotels nearby.

"Fuck," Aomine mumbled, eyes wide when he saw a pair of legs stick out from behind a trash can. A shoe was missing. The formerly gray pants were torn and bloody. As he walked closer he could make out cuts on hands and arms where the sleeves were torn, muddy, and stained with crimson. This wasn't unheard of; club owners tended to dump bodies on other club owner's property when a bar fight got out of control or when customers got in ugly fights with Yakuza thugs. No one wanted trouble with the law.

Aomine ran back to the doorway where he had left the door wide open.

"Imayoshi! Get your ass out here now! We got road kill in the back!"

Imayoshi was out in less than five seconds, closely followed by Takao, a morbidly curious newcomer who hadn't been a newcomer since last year.

"What?" Takao said. "Where?"

Aomine showed them both where he had found the man that seemed to have been beaten half to death. The color of his hair was damn near indistinguishable from the blood. His face was swollen and distorted with bruises. The man sat propped up against the wall. They could hear labored breaths come out of him, followed by the pained moans Aomine had heard earlier.

Aomine kneeled down to get a better look at the man and his frown grew deeper.

"They sure pulled a number on this guy. What do we do?"

"I'm thinking the hospital," Imayoshi said like it was obvious. "We can't nurse him back to health ourselves. Takao, cellphone."

"...no…" the man wheezed.

Aomine turned his attention back to him. "What?"

"...not...hos...tal…"

"Why not?" Imayoshi asked rhetorically. "You can't die here. We'll be put in jail for murder."

"Maybe he's an immigrant and doesn't want to be sent back?" Takao offered, looking at the man with deep worry.

"I'm…" the man struggled. The air he pulled in didn't seem to be enough for him to speak, but he tried again. "...not in-insured…"

"That's the least of your worries now, pal. We have to get you to the hospital or you'll die. Takao." Aomine looked back at Takao and saw him pull his cellphone out reluctantly. "Make the call."

"We should take him to Shin-chan instead. He knows how to deal with this."

"Isn't he a Yakuza doctor?" Imayoshi asked.

"Yeah, but he treats the higher-ups, so his medical equipment is top notch, and he's discreet."

"And expensive," Imayoshi added.

"Call him," Aomine said.

"Hey, Aomine, you don't call the shots here!" Imayoshi protested.

"Takao, call him. Whatever his fee is won't be as bad as an actual hospital, especially if this guy isn't insured. I'll pay for the bill.”

Takao had been right about the equipment. Ten minutes after the call, a white van drove up to the alley. At first it hadn't looked like much, but as soon as the backdoors opened, a man with a stretcher walked out. With some assistance, they managed to get the badly beaten man onto the stretcher and into the van. Imayoshi stayed behind willingly. Takao wanted to go with the improvised ambulance to see 'Shin-chan', but was persuaded to stay to not get in the way. Aomine got in the back, watching the man check for any obvious injuries with a serious look on his face.

At their destination, they rolled the stretcher into a small, empty hallway that smelled like more of a hospital than any other Aomine had had the misfortune of being in. They were greeted by a man in a long white coat, glasses and intensely green hair.

"Good evening, I'm Shintarou Midorima." He hadn't said much else. He quickly glanced at the man on the stretcher and made a note of him on his notepad. He pushed his glasses up his nose and gave his assistant a look. As the assistant rolled away with the badly beaten man, Midorima turned to Aomine with a sigh. "Well, he's clearly been in a fight. I'll run some X-rays to see if anything is broken. I could tell that his right leg clearly is, but I need to see where it's broken and how serious it is. He might need a blood transfusion, and he'll need to be put on a 24-hour observation since he probably has a concussion. I'm not gonna lie to you, this is gonna cost you."

"That's fine. Do what you gotta do."

Midorima glanced at Aomine and cocked one perfectly groomed eyebrow in disbelief. Aomine was in a large grey jersey and worn blue sweatpants and sneakers, he didn't exactly look wealthy.

"Somehow I find you a bit difficult to believe. I will need a fifty percent down payment."

"Fine. Go and crunch the numbers and tell me how much you need. I have to make a phone call."

Aomine scratched the back of his head and yawned widely as he picked up his phone and gave the doctor a look. After ripping off Ryouta Kise, Aomine felt like he had some bad karma to work through and what better way to rid yourself of bad karma and a heavy conscience than help a fellow man in need of a fraction of the money he had made by doing something less than honest.

-x-

A week later karma called Aomine in the form of a certain green-haired doctor who needed his assistance with the man he had found in the alleyway. Aomine could sense that something was wrong the second he had heard Midorima's stern voice, and he still couldn't figure out what had possessed him to actually go back there to find out what it was. He had to see the man that had been left for dead to understand that it had been karma that had taken him by the hand and led him back here.

"I'm taking it by the look on your face that you know this man?" Midorima asked, staring straight ahead through the window overseeing the patient room in which the man was asleep on a comfortable looking bed.

"It's, I mean, yea- no, I do not know that man. It's just...seriously?"

"He refuses to tell me his name, anything about his family, or occupation. It's worrisome. I can't tell if he has amnesia, or if he is being a pain in the ass."

"Why do you think I would know? I just found him in an alleyway."

"And brought him to my practice and paid for his bill which led me to believe that this is someone you know. Is he a delinquent? I could get in serious trouble if he is some sort of delinquent."

"You treat Yakuza bosses, what kind of fucking trouble could you possibly get in?" Aomine asked exasperated. There was no mistaking the blonde, luscious hair that framed an attractive mixture of both masculine and delicate features on that currently bruised face. It was none other than Ryouta Kise, son of the possibly-soon-to-be Governor, Isami Kise.

"What? Oh. Yeah. Right. Yakuza bosses." Midorima tensed and focused his attention onto the patient in the room in hopes that the small blush on his cheeks wouldn't catch Aomine's eye.

"Please tell me that you treat Yakuza bosses. Hey, you treat them, right? This is a non-official, criminals only, under the radar-kind of place, right?"

Midorima sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose again even though they were still in place.

"I'm a house doctor. This is an extension branch of the university hospital uptown, to make medical attention accessible to everyone. I worked at the trauma center for six months. It was stressful, but I liked it, but then this chief position opened, and here I am."

Aomine stared, wide-eyed.

"But, Takao said…"

"I might have bent the truth a little bit to make my work seem a little more exciting than it actually is. I never thought Takao would actually send criminals over. You do understand that I must contact proper authorities?"

"No, no, no. Bad idea. Listen. This guy is not to be messed with. He might look like a doofus, but let me tell you, he - he is worse than Yakuza. Much, much worse. Have you heard about the Triads? He's one of the higher-ups."

"He didn't have any tattoos."

"He's a higher-up double agent, is what I was gonna say. He's a double agent. So, I'll just take him off your hands now, and we'll forget all about this. C'mon now, I paid up front. The trauma center will be a walk in the park compared to what that guy'll do to you if you rat him out."

Midorima proved fairly easy to convince, and a string of curses and a taxi ride later, Aomine had an unconscious, recuperating, former client in his spare room and a world of trouble to come, he could sense it, and if he had been a person with less morals, he'd have dump him somewhere too, just to avoid it.

-x-

The fabric against his skin felt foreign. The scent of the sheets around him wasn't his either, but there was something slightly familiar about it. What wasn't familiar was the stinging pain on every part of his body that made it feel as if he had been mauled by an elephant. There was an itch on the lower part of his right leg that he couldn't get to. His left arm felt constricted and there was something pulling at his neck. His mouth was dry, as if he had been breathing particles of sand for days. He opened his eyes slowly and tried to shy away from the sunlight coming in through the drapes over the window. The ceiling above him was foreign too, and it spun, round and round. He had to blink a few times to make the spinning slow down, until it eventually stopped.

It wasn't until he sat up and saw the cast on his leg and arm that he remembered what had happened.

He had been found out.

His dad had had his loyal advisers scrutinize every receipt, bank statement, and any other documents in the family, and it turned out that when they couldn't find anything, his father put spies on everyone to make sure they all behaved, and anyone could be a spy if it was for future Governor Kise's sake. Kise's oldest sister, Hanako, was caught dating a Korean man; she broke up with him three days later after being caught. Their father had thought that that would be the worst he'd find out, until he found out about Kise's favorite, and highly expensive, hobby.

Fortunately, there had been no way for them to identify Aomine.

Kise tried to sigh, but the effort made his bruised chest protest, and the sigh became a wince instead.

His father had disowned him immediately. Kise hadn't expected anything else from him. To Kise, it seemed as if his father had searched for a reason to push him aside his whole life, and now he finally had one. What had hurt the most was the disappointment and utter disgust in his mother's eyes when she sided with his father. Kise hadn't even seen the slap coming, and it still ached. The slap. Yumiko's scream of protest when their mother hit him, and Hanako's attempt at looking stoic while failing to keep her tears from falling, all of that hurt. He had failed them all, and the worst part was that he would do it all over again if it meant being with Aomine, if only for a night at a time.

Kise had thought that his confrontation with his family would be the end of it. He'd be thrown out, never to be spoken to again, but he had truly underestimated his father's hatred for him.

The door to the bedroom opened slowly, and Kise looked up quickly, frightened by the sudden noise. The room started to spin again, but not for long. The sight of the person standing there on the other side of the small room, sobered him up and he gulped, convinced that he must either be near death or dead already.

"Oh, you're up!" Aomine said with a smile. "Awesome. You can take your pain meds by yourself then. I wasn't sure you'd be up, so I crushed them and blended them with water and put it all in this syringe here that I was just gonna squirt in your mouth…"

"Have I died and gone to heaven?"

Aomine's smile faltered. "Ehh, no. You're still alive, a bit shook up maybe, but you took quite a beating so that's normal. Here." Aomine put the syringe on the bed and stepped back. "Put that as far back on your tongue as you can, because I think it tastes like hell."

"How did I get here? Why are you here?"

"I live here, and you got dumped outside the club, so we got you to the hospital and then I took you back here."

"Outside the club, are you sure?" Kise felt his heart beat faster with fear. Had they identified Aomine after all? "I didn't walk over there or something?"

"I don't know. When I found you, you were sitting there amongst the trash cans, so I think you were dumped there. Do I wanna know who you pissed off? Or will you have to kill me if you tell me?"

"Nobody...it was, uh, a bar fight. I got drunk and that's about all I can remember. You haven't had anyone suspicious lurking around?"

"Someone suspicious? Around our club? Never," Aomine scoffed. "Anyway, take your meds, I'll pack your things up and call a cab. Your parents must be worried sick."

"Yeah…" Kise paused. "Could I stay with you for a couple of days?"

"Absolutely not. You're going." Aomine turned to leave.

"Please! It'll just be a couple of days. I can't go back home now because...because there are reporters around my house and I don't want to ruin my dad's campaign by showing up like this."

"And what, you don't have any friends that can house you for a couple of days? Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Kise gulped. His mind raced. Did he have friends? None that he'd call for help. None that would stand up for him in the light of what had been discovered. Besides, he didn't want to be anywhere near of where his father could find him. He had made his point perfectly clear about what he'd do if Kise ever showed his face near them again. He scratched at his arm absentmindedly, and then, without thinking, he said, "I'll pay you."

Aomine seemed to at least be thinking about it. He nodded his head slowly.

"Alright. One week. That's a million yen, for housing alone. I want half in three days. Understood?"

"Yeah...three days. Got it. Thank you, Daiki."

"Don't call me that. It's Aomine."

Kise smiled weakly at Aomine who left the room and closed the door behind him. How hard could it be getting his hands on a million yen? Kise reached for the syringe on the bed. He just needed some time to think and figure it out. There had to be something that paid a million yen that he could do.


	2. Closing The Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)  
> Warnings: none  
> A/N: I plan on updating weekly, for anyone who's wondering. Thanks for reading!

* * *

Kise sat by the small dinner table in the kitchen. The painkillers had taken a whole day from him, and now he was frantically looking for jobs in the newspaper that had plopped into Aomine's mailbox at seven in the morning. Aomine was fast asleep. He had gone out late last night and Kise imagined that he hadn't come back home until recently. Aomine's room was across from the kitchen; it was the "no-entry-zone" as Aomine had called it when he gave Kise the grand tour of the apartment. He had given Kise a fair warning; if he ever caught Kise in his room, Kise would be out faster than he could say 'chairman'.

Aomine's bedroom was the last thing on his mind right now. He had one day to find something that could give him ¥500.000 or he'd be alone, injured, and out on the streets. He had circled two of the twenty-five job ads which were the only ones that didn't require previous experience. They were also the ones with the lowest pay.

How many hours would he have to work to get ¥500.000? He started doing the math on the margin of the newspaper. He had already decided that he'd work all night if he had to, as long as he got the sum that he needed. If he got ¥1261 per hour, he would have to work... Kise wrote the numbers slowly as the answer came to him: 6250 hours. That's more than a day's work, he thought with a tired laugh.

"Mornin'." Aomine walked into the kitchen, scratching his back and yawning widely. Kise took a moment to appreciate the gray and fluffy slippers Aomine was wearing, but tried to be discreet about it.

"I got 'em from a friend, alright?" Aomine said, somewhat defensively.

Kise looked back into his newspaper with a small smile on his lips and started to read through the other job ads. How hard could it be to be a nurse? They made a bit more, but still nowhere near enough.

Aomine sat down across from him a few minutes later with a bowl with yogurt and corn flakes, a cup of tea, two pieces of toasts and some scrambled eggs. Kise eyed the bowl, feeling like he should comment, but refrained from it. Aomine leaned back in his chair and sighed right before he took a mouthful of yogurt and corn flakes, a sleepy look on his face. Kise had to bite his lip softly to keep himself from smiling wider at the adorable sight.

"Have you eaten anything?" Aomine asked once he had swallowed what was in his mouth, and reached for a bite of toast too.

"Uh, yeah, I ate...earlier." At the hospital, a voice in his head reminded him. Aomine seemed reluctant to have him here already, and Kise didn't want to push his luck. "Do you... happen to know of any work available around here?"

"Why?" Aomine asked around the toast.

"I need a place to work. I can't live off my dad my whole life."

"Alright, listen, this isn't gonna work," Aomine said, with a sigh.

"What? But, wait, I'll get you the money. I swear." Kise's heart did a backflip in his chest and the room seemed to spin.

"I've been up for less than fifteen minutes and you've told me nothing but lies. First off, no one's gonna hire a guy with one working leg, one working arm, and a concussion who's also taking painkillers on an empty stomach. Here." Aomine tossed him the toast on his plate, his expression stern. "Secondly, never have I ever heard a rich mama's boy seriously utter the words 'I can't live off my dad forever,' unless they've gotten the boot, and I'm guessing your old man had plenty of reasons to kick you to the curb. I'm just sorry it had to be my curb."

Kise cursed the quiver of his lips at that moment, but at least he managed to swallow the lump in his throat.

"I'll work for it. I'll get you a million yen. I just need a chance. Please. I'll work hard. And I won't complain."

How pitiful he must have looked to have Aomine cave once more when he had seemed to be dead-set on throwing him out and washing his hands clean. He was clearly annoyed by it. He didn't say anything until he was done with breakfast. He got up, tossed the dishes into the sink and sighed loudly.

"Get ready, we're going out."

-x-

The interior of Tōō looked definitely better during nighttime with a light buzz and a constant light show in the background. The multitude of people in the club tended to distract the eye as well. It hardly looked like the same place during the day. A nudge from Aomine quickly turned Kise's attention forward.

"Look alive if you want a job," Aomine said in a low voice as they approached the bar where a black-haired man with squinty eyes stood, polishing glasses into perfect condition.

Kise leaned against his one crutch as he inspected the bar. The bar looked as classy as he remembered it to be. He hadn't spent much time here, he was usually on one of the so-called "host podiums" where he'd sit in Aomine's company, alongside a group of newly made friends when he wasn't with his supposedly real friends. To think his first time here had been over a year ago.

"Aomine, you're ear- who is that?" Imayoshi's polite smile faded immediately. He put his rag aside, cleaned his glasses on his apron, and got a better look at the blond stranger in his shop.

"Before you freak out –" Aomine began.

"Fuck me gently with a chainsaw, Aomine, are you out of your mind?! Is that the guy from the alleyway? More importantly, are you Kise's kid? Mayor Kise's son? Mayor Kise's son that got his ass kicked and dumped in our alleyway?!"

"Yes?" Kise answered, uncertain if he should, so he glanced at Aomine to see if he had gotten it right.

Aomine stood there, scratching the back of his ear, seemingly more annoyed than he had been at breakfast.

"Aw, man. Aw, man, oh, man. Aomine, sideline. Now."

"Fucking, take a deep breath and let me explain! It's not as bad as it looks."

Imayoshi's eyes widened in complete disbelief at what he was hearing come from Aomine's mouth.

"Wasn't he a former client of yours, Mr. I-don't-shit-where-I-eat? You can't bring him here. Don't you two dimwits watch the news? Mr. Kise struck a deal with Hanamiya Corp. To put it in words you can understand, Mr. Kise owns our asses now. His web stretches all through town and let me tell you what'll happen when he finds out that we have his only son here, frolicking and whatnot with our star host; best-case scenario, we close down shop, worst-case scenario, we end up on the ocean floor in body bags. I won't have it. I will not have it."

"How does my dad own this part of town? ...it's far from his favorite part."

"Hanamiya Corp is a shady corporation that owns a great part of the harbor at Tokyo Bay. They control the fish market, and they're also the most powerful Yakuza group in Tokyo. They decide who stays open and who doesn't. They come by to collect their share once a month. Your dad will own us by proxy, and that's scary enough for me," Imayoshi said with a frown.

"Imayoshi, sideline." Aomine walked over to the other side of the bar and Imayoshi followed him, reluctantly. Kise stayed behind, looking at them both, but mostly at Aomine, as he tried to make a case for him.

"I can't believe that you brought him here!" Imayoshi said, then dropped his voice as low as he could manage, "What's going on with you?"

"Listen, I know that this is a bit unorthodox –"

"Understatement."

"But he needs help, alright?"

"Are you sure that's not your dick talking?"

"My dick has next to nothing to do with this. He was my client, he hasn't been my client for roughly a month or so, and to be honest, the most memorable thing about him was the money. Point is, I was glad to get rid of him, but I can't just turn my back on him now."

"Why not? If you were happy to get rid of him, why is he here, Aomine? You're putting my head on the line here."

"I might have overcharged him."

Imayoshi sighed and rubbed his temples. "By how much?"

"A lot. I don't have exact numbers, but I bled him out."

"And you think it's your fault he's where he is now?"

"I'm pretty sure I played a role in it. He got kicked out of his golden nest, and damn it, he's got the big begging eyes down, alright?! You either want to punch him in the face, or get him a job. So how about it? Can you do me a solid here? You don't have to put him out on the floor, just keep him in the back, throwing the trash where it belongs, and have him do light cleaning chores until he's out of the casts at least."

"And you want me to pay him for it?"

"Minimum wage, nothing fancy, and off the record. I might have told him that I wanted a million yen to let him stay at my place, so give the guy a bone."

"I'd like to punch you in the face."

"I make us both a living with this face," Aomine said smugly. "Do we have a deal?"

"Against my better judgment," Imayoshi said tiredly, and shook Aomine's hand to seal the deal.

Aomine walked back to Kise. Those ambers eyes nearly sparkled with anticipation when Aomine came closer. It was a familiar sight Aomine had almost missed. Kise gripped his crutch tighter.

"What did he say?" Kise asked eagerly.

"You start tonight at the back. Your job is to throw the trash away before it piles up. I'll show you where our garbage room is, it's near the kitchen. You'll make sure that all rooms are clean. Dirty clothes go into the laundry basket, and toward the end of the night you put them in the washer, and before you go, put them in the dryer. You've worked with a washer and a dryer before?"

Kise shook his head, unable to contain a wide smile at the news he was hearing.

"Alright, come with me. I'll give you the grand tour. Pay close attention, or Imayoshi'll snap your head off, are we clear?"

"Crystal," Kise replied quickly, the smile still apparent in his voice. Aomine hurried past him, and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly to hide the affect Kise's smile had over him.

"Thank you, Aominecchi. Is it okay if I call you that?"

"Sounds a bit weird, but alright. And, you're welcome."

-x-

At night, Tōō turned into a den of iniquity. The music pumped loudly on the two packed dance floors. Waiters came and went with trays of food and drinks to their clients at the host podiums. The lightshow came in different colors, illuminating the venue enough to keep the atmosphere of sexual tension high.

Aomine had the center podium. He never had to wait for any customers, they stood lined up outside, waiting for his table to be free, where they'd hurry inside to spend an hour with him and unreasonable amounts of money. It was astounding to see how he got along with all of his customers. The podium transformed him. He was attentive, charming, and seductive up there, always making sure that it was about the customer. Man or woman, he kept a high level of performance, and Kise wondered how he managed to do that for hours on end. Kise didn't get to watch Aomine for long, however, he only caught glimpses throughout the night. There was always something to clean, and the garbage piled up quickly in the trash room. Kise hopped on his good leg from one side of the club to the other, always making sure to stay in the sidelines so as not to be recognized by anybody.

It wasn't until mid-shift that he realized that he had forgotten to bring his painkillers. He stopped in his tracks and lowered the laundry basket onto the floor when he felt a hollow pain right underneath his knee on his broken leg. He took a deep breath, picked up the laundry basket again, and hopped down the hallway, doing his best to ignore the insisting pain. He had promised Aomine that he wouldn't complain, and Aomine had helped him too much to let him down now.

"Hey, blondie!" Imayoshi popped his head out from one of the rooms and called for Kise. "Dinner at the bar, c'mon. You've got twenty minutes."

Kise dropped the laundry basket again and followed after Imayoshi. The closer to the bar he came, the louder the music. The bar was a front-row ticket to the intense party going on at Tōō. He could see all the podiums from here, as much as the half-walls would around the podiums would allow, and the two dance floors. This was as close as Imayoshi would get to a watchtower.

Imayoshi put a plate in front of him, as well as a napkin and a fork.

"Eat up," Imayoshi said loudly before he hurried to the other side of the bar where one of the guests was ready to place an order.

Kise looked down on his plate. It was a sloppily made hamburger with cold fries and ketchup. Any other day, he would have looked at it with disdain, but with only a toast for food today, the hamburger came like a blessing. He took a large bite, savoring every taste he could distinguish.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Aomine get out of his seat in the middle of the black leather couches to greet someone. That was new. It was hard to get a good look into what happened in the podiums. Kise could only see heads from behind the half-walls, and the customers currently sitting with Aomine were getting ready to leave when Aomine got up. Kise took another slow bite as he watched the scene unfold.

A beautiful woman walked up to him, beaming. She had long pink hair, a radiant smile and wore denim hot-pants, black heels, and a flouncy white blouse. Aomine leaned down to give her a proper hug. She squeezed him tight, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, and Aomine smiled.

"Quite the sight for sore eyes, huh?" Imayoshi said, passing a rag across the counter.

"Is she a regular?" Kise asked, trying not to seem too interested.

"Yes and no. She's Aomine's best friend, Satsuki Momoi. She's a former host. She used to work for one of the big, fancy places in Ginza, but work got a little too dodgy; Aomine got her out of it. Not a second too soon, if you ask me. Those two have been through a lot together."

"Are they a couple?"

Imayoshi laughed. "You better be making small talk, blondie. They're not a couple, though they should be. She keeps him grounded, and with an ego as big as Aomine's, he sure needs it. But he's too busy chasing what he can't have to notice."

 _He's chasing someone?_ Kise fought the urge to ask Imayoshi if he knew who it was Aomine was chasing, but he quickly came to the conclusion that if Imayoshi did know and if he asked Imayoshi, he'd be refused an answer. Instead, he turned his attention back to Aomine and Satsuki Momoi. She had dragged him to the dance floor, and he looked sheepishly at her when she tilted her head in, what Kise assumed was supposed to be, a cute gesture. Whatever happened next was obscured by the group of people that passed by. Kise held his breath for a second and by the time he caught a glimpse of Aomine again, Aomine was dancing with Satsuki, closely, intimately, and all Kise could think of in that moment was; was Aomine dull with her?

"Is Aomine straight?" Kise asked, his gaze never wavering from Aomine.

"That doesn't concern you, blondie. Straight, gay, bi, he's not gonna go for you. You were a client and that's all you're ever gonna be to him. The sooner you get that through your skull, the better for everyone."

"Can I take the rest of this to go?" Kise picked up his plate and got onto his one good and shaky leg.

"Sure, doggy bags are in the closet next to the garbage room."

The rest of his shift went by quickly. Kise kept on switching back and forth, throwing trash out, cleaning, and collecting clothes for washing from the hosts' changing rooms. At two in the morning, he sat down on a chair by the backdoor exit to wait for Aomine's shift to end. He'd go back alone if he could, but he didn't have keys, and he wasn't sure he remembered how to get back to Aomine's place.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Kise heard Aomine's voice from down the hallway. He had tried to keep his mind off what Imayoshi had told him earlier, and he had managed to while he worked, but hearing Aomine's voice made him think of Aomine out there, on the dance floor. He had been so in tune with someone else, smiling freely, naturally, in a way Kise had never seen before. He was a jealous former client that had turned into a burden without a dime to his name, and all he could hope for was that this would be as low as he'd ever come in his life.

Aomine stopped in his tracks when he noticed Kise. He was chewing on a large piece of sandwich. His left cheek stretched when he shuffled the food to one side of his mouth to speak.

"What's with the face? Sick of work already?"

"I forgot my meds."

"Well, can you walk? I sure as hell ain't carrying you back home."

"Yeah, I'll manage." Kise grabbed his crutch and got onto his feet, his doggy bag dangling off the handle. He let out a short sigh of relief when he got up without feeling the numbing pain in his leg. He took one, two steps when his good leg suddenly folded underneath him. The hit was going to hurt, regardless of how he fell, and he tried to brace himself for the pain that was coming whether he liked it or not, but Aomine caught him.

" Whoa there," Aomine said with a grunt and pulled Kise back up from mid-fall. "I thought you said you could walk?" He helped Kise back onto the chair.

"I thought I could, but I guess I overdid it. Look, I'll just stay here for a bit and rest. You can go back. I'll ask Imayoshi if I can crash on the couch in the changing room or something."

Aomine took another large bite from his sandwich and looked at Kise as if he was thinking about the suggestion and leaning toward agreeing. When he turned away, Kise thought Aomine was about to say goodbye to Imayoshi and hurry back home.

"Hey, Imayoshi!" Aomine called loudly.

"What?" Imayoshi called back from a room far down the hallway.

"Do you still have that wheelbarrow?"

"Who's asking?"

"I don't have time for this."

"...it's in the storage room by the dumpster out back. Why?"

"No reason." Aomine turned back to Kise and finished his sandwich. "Stay put."

He walked outside. All Kise could hear was stuff being shoved aside and he tried to see what Aomine was doing, but the door was in the way. A minute later, Aomine walked back in, and motioned Kise to stand back up, and Kise managed, but just barely.

"Hold onto your crutch."

"What? Why?" Kise stared wide-eyed at Aomine when he got down to put his arms around Kise's waist and throw him over his shoulder. "Aominecchi! What are you doing?!" He tried to wriggle out of being carried, and in response, Aomine put his arm tighter around his legs, his hand right by the most ticklish part of Kise's thigh. "No, Aominecchi! Stop it!" He burst into laughter as he wiggled the lower part of his one good leg, his head moving from side to side when Aomine walked out of the club and out to the alleyway.

"Be still, idiot, or I'll drop you."

"Chairman! Chairman!" Kise wheezed through outbursts of laughter when Aomine squeezed his thigh on purpose.

"That won’t help you outside the bedroom.” Aomine stopped by the wheelbarrow. “There. And don't make a scene or we'll attract more attention than necessary." Aomine put Kise down in a deep, big, rusty wheelbarrow with green handles. He picked the wheelbarrow up by the handles and pushed it forward on the one wobbly wheel.

"Aominecchi, you're mean," Kise sighed with traces of laughter still in his voice. He arranged himself in the wheelbarrow as best as he could and leaned his head back. He couldn't see much of Aomine's face from where he lay, only his chin and some of his neck, and it was a comforting sight to see with the dark night sky in the background.

"What are you staring at?" Aomine asked with a yawn.

"Nothing."

"Yeah? 'Cause it feels like you're staring at me."

"Don't flatter yourself."

Aomine snickered. It was the greatest sound of the day. Kise closed his eyes lightly and smiled at his small but important victory. Aomine would let him in eventually. Kise had been patient so far, and considering where they were now compared to a year ago, Kise would say that his patience had paid off.


	3. Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)  
> A/N: An earlier update this week because I don't have time to upload anything tomorrow. As always, thanks for reading and feel free to share your thoughts and feelings!

* * *

One year earlier...

* * *

Isami Kise's office was impeccable. Large, old bookcases in dark oak framed the room. When he wasn't in meetings, he was usually behind his desk, by his computer, working on motions he felt were important to Tokyo and the whole of Japan, or making important corporate decisions. His company was the largest vendor of alternative energy sources in all of Japan, and as he, little by little, moved further into the world of politics, he had hopes his son would take the reign after him to make sure his empire lived on.

The furious look in his eyes told another story. Kise stood on the other side of the desk, hands clasped in front, his head slightly lowered, his bangs covering him from some of the heat. This wasn't new. His father's low opinion of him was common knowledge. It had started at the beginning of middle school, and Kise was certain it wouldn't change.

"Do you wake up in the morning, thinking of new ways to embarrass me?!" Isami roared, and slammed his hands against the surface of his expensive desk. "This is the second time you have to retake basic economy! Do you understand the shame of having to face the board members?! Everyone knows, Ryouta! They know what a failure of a human being you are, prancing about as a model, like some sort of whore!"

Isami was red in the face. The veins in his forehead were apparent. Specks of spit flew from his mouth, and he couldn't seem to run out of things to say. It was as if running through the entire mental list of Kise's faults was a compulsion that he needed to go through with to make everything right with the universe.

"Honey." Kise's mother's voice cut through Isami's near screams, even though she spoke in such a gentle and calm tone. She stepped into the home office, and closed the door behind her delicately. "Honey, isn't that enough? I think Ryouta understands that he has done wrong, and that he hasn't quite met our expectations, but," she placed a hand on Kise's arm softly and smiled. "I'm sure Ryouta will do his best to improve. He only wants to make you proud, isn't that right, Ryouta dear?"

"Yes, mother." Kise tried to sound confident, but his voice wavered and he quickly cleared his throat to hide it.

"Yukie, stop defending his behavior! He will be our ruin if this goes on!"

"You're excused, dear," Yukie said.

Kise turned around and tried not to hurry out of the room despite the lump of tears burning in his throat. After all of these years, it still had an effect on him, and a special kind of self-hatred bubbled up inside of him at the frustration of not being able to control his reaction when he already knew what he could expect from his father.

It used to be easier when his sisters lived at home. They would listen for whenever Kise got scolded, and they'd be there to comfort him, but they had grown up and moved out as soon as they could. Kise couldn't call them whenever he got scolded. They all had their own lives, and Kise was struggling to maintain his.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Haizaki. Kise picked up although he knew good things rarely came out of talking with this particular classmate.

"Hello?" He wiped the tears from his eyes, and hoped his voice wasn't as thick as he thought it was.

"Kise? Hey, listen up, y'know that club we went to on Halloween last year? The prank one? Guess who's going there for his birthday. Fuckin' Moriyama."

"Eh?" Kise's interest suddenly peaked at the mention of the host club in the gay district of Tokyo. He had gone there with a group of friends, Haizaki included, as a prank on Moriyama who wanted to spend all of Halloween chasing ‘easy’ girls. "Did he give up on girls?"

"I don't know!" Haizaki laughed. "All I know is that we're going for his birthday. There is no way in the world I'm gonna miss Moriyama trying to act cool around some guy host. You in or what?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm in. What time are we going?"

"We'll be there at ten. Bring a camera. Hey, you've talked to your dad about giving me the internship yet?"

"Um, the internship, right. No, he's been in business meetings a lot lately, but I will, as soon as I catch him," Kise said.

"Alright, don't forget! Be there at ten! I've heard the line is a mile long."

Haizaki laughed again, and Kise felt like joining him, not to laugh at Moriyama, but to express his anticipation of going to that club again where he had seen a certain peculiar host that he hadn't thought about since he was there last. Maybe his father was right after all; maybe he did wake up in the mornings and thought of new ways to embarrass him.

-x-

The club was crowded. They had been standing in line for at least a half hour before they were let in, and according to Moriyama that was a hell of a lot when they were the only 'cool guys' standing in line. Kise would've complained too; it was cold and boring, but he knew what was waiting for them inside, and he wanted to tell them that a half hour was nothing compared to what he had had to wait when he'd returned two weeks after Halloween when he had come here and managed to sneak in with a group of girls with the same target as him: Aomine, the club's number one host.

Tonight, Kise had done his best to dress up without looking like he cared. He was wearing dark blue jeans that bordered on black. They were a bit loose up top, but got tighter further down his legs. His V-line shirt was white and was made of a light fabric. He rolled the sleeves to just underneath his elbows. He wore three bracelets on his right wrist, all of them were in different shades of dark brown. They were gifts he had gotten from his oldest sister, Hanako, when she'd came back from a trip to India.

Once they were let inside, left their jackets in the wardrobe, they were led by a waiter to the podium host in the middle of the room where none other than Aomine sat.

Kise brushed his bangs to the side absentmindedly, stealing quick glances of the gorgeous host. He could see that they were all talking, and Aomine smiled at them subtly in a way that wasn't polite or anything else one would expect so early on. It was a seducing smile, and that, coupled with the aura around him, made them all fall for his charms. Even Haizaki stumbled over his words, and Kise remembered now why he hadn't come back since that time after Halloween. He had known then that if he kept seeing Aomine, he would do something that would truly give his father a reason to be enraged, and Kise couldn't afford the consequences.

"...so, I'm actually here because one, I want to make my girlfriend jealous, and two, she'd just lose her mind if she knew that I was here, she's been wanting to come here for ages," Moriyama said, probably as a reply to something Aomine had asked.

"Does she even know that she's your girlfriend?" Haizaki snorted before he took a long sip of his beer.

"How do you all know each other?" Aomine asked, managing to look interested even though Moriyama had been talking about his girlfriend non-stop.

"We're all in the same class at Todai. We're in the Business Administration program. Kise over there is more likely to become a full-time model than a businessman though, unless he wants to run his old man's business into the ground and beyond." Moriyama laughed and then suddenly hiccupped.

"Why's that? You don't like it?"

Kise was tongue-tied. He hadn't expected Aomine to talk to him now when he was caught up in his own thoughts.

"Um…" Kise began and hoped he wasn't blushing.

"It's 'cause he's got shit for brains, man," Haizaki said, and tried to pull Kise into a head-lock, but failed. "Even Mitobe did better than him in the oral exam, and Mitobe doesn't even talk."

There was an eruption of laughter and Kise joined them because, in a way, it was funny. Kise was sure it was, but whenever he thought he was about to find that one funny thing, all he could hear was his father yelling, and then it wasn't so funny anymore.

Moriyama ended up paying for a guy's night out. He asked Aomine for advice on how to deal with his girlfriend, and the other three asked for advice on girls in general, and while Aomine could've easily reminded them that they were in a gay club with what Kise assumed to be gay hosts, he decided to answer their questions instead. For an hour, Kise stared in awe and got drunk on Aomine's voice, hoping that Moriyama would ask a stupid question that would need a long-winded answer.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, as Aomine somehow eased the constant anxiety gnawing in Kise's chest, he decided that he wanted the host all to himself.

-x-

It was past midnight and everyone but Kise had gone home. He had pretended to go home, but as soon as everyone went separate ways, Kise hurried back and stood by the line leading into the club. He put his arms around himself and breathed in and out in a slow rhythm to preoccupy himself with his white breath. Once he saw that the guards outside started to prepare to close up shop, Kise hurried past the club, and toward the alleyway where he figured the staff entrance was.

As he neared the alleyway, he heard two men having a heated argument, and one of those men was definitely Aomine. Just as Kise was about to round the corner, someone hurried past him, hidden in a large coat with a furred hood. Kise gave the person a quick glance, but his attention soon fell on Aomine who stood there in a dark green jacket with a hood similar to the one he had seen the other person wear.

Aomine took a long drag off his cigarette and held it in for a few seconds before he blew the smoke out of his nose, closing his eyes tightly and knitting his brows. He shifted his weight from one foot to another restlessly, and he clenched the one fist he wasn't using to hold his cigarette.

Kise walked up to him slowly and pushed his scarf closer to his neck when he felt a cold breeze blow through. Aomine looked up at him as soon as he heard someone approach him. He looked hopeful for a split second before he saw that it wasn't who he had hoped it would be.

"What do you want?" he asked sternly, and took another long drag off his cigarette. "This place is staff only."

"I don't know if you remember me…"

"I don't."

Kise gave a slow nod, disappointed but somehow not surprised. "I was in there earlier today. With the gang of business students."

"Are you going somewhere with this? You're spoiling my break."

Kise should have taken the hint, he knew he should have, but he was impatient. He knew what he wanted and he wanted it now. He had been postponing this, and if he didn't act now, he never would. Kise reached into his pocket, subconsciously playing with the bills in it. He walked up closer to not have to speak louder than necessary.

"I'd like to buy your services."

"You?" Aomine scoffed. "Do you even know what you're asking for?"

"Yeah, I do," Kise said, starting to get annoyed by Aomine's attitude that was completely different from anything Kise had seen from him before.

Aomine took one last drag before he squashed the small surviving embers of the butt of the cigarette with his fingers and flicked it off somewhere. He looked to his side quickly, perhaps to hide a sneer he couldn't hold back. When he looked up at Kise again, he reached his hand out quickly, grabbing Kise by the front of his jacket and pulled him close, before pushing him up against the cold, moist wall and pressed up against him.

Kise shivered at Aomine's close proximity. His heart was racing in his chest out of anticipation and fear. He gulped and tried to gain control over his quick and shallow breathing.

"What if I, for ten grand, fuck you right here and now up against this wall? Does that sound like anything you were looking to buy?"

Kise wasn't sure what he was looking for, only that he had wanted Aomine. He nodded, taking a second to look at Aomine where he was standing so close that he could feel his warm breath against his chin. Normally, Kise would frown at the smell of tobacco, but he was too turned on to be bothered.

"Y-yeah, okay."

Kise closed his eyes briefly when Aomine undid Kise's belt and pulled the zipper down easily. He wasn't wasting any time. Aomine dug into his pockets for a small plastic bottle with something transparent in it. It was all Kise managed to see before Aomine moved in closer, the side of his head brushing against Kise's, and surely there would be a kiss now, Kise thought.

"Is that cash in your pocket or do you already have a full hard-on, model boy? Don't tell me you're a virgin?"

"I'm not," Kise was quick to reply.

"What's your safe word?" Aomine asked against his neck, pressing his thigh up against Kise's crotch. Kise's legs nearly buckled, but he grabbed a hold of the arm Aomine had around his waist, inside his jacket, tugging his pants down his hips.

"What's a... what's a safe word?"

"One random word you choose to say when you get uncomfortable so that I know when to back off," Aomine said, amused, as if he had just scored an important point in a game he was playing with himself.

"...chairman. Chairman is my safe word."

"Alright." Aomine slipped his hand into Kise's pants and into his underwear, making Kise shudder with surprise at the coldness of Aomine's hand against his own warm skin. "Let's see how popped your cherry is. Relax."

Kise nodded. His heart was beating so loud he could barely hear himself think, instead he focused on Aomine; his scent that was mostly masked behind cologne, his thigh pressing up against him, the unsteady hold he had on Aomine. He took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled slowly, but he only got half way. His breath got caught in his throat. Aomine pushed a finger in as soon as he felt Kise relax. It was a sensation Kise had been completely unprepared for; it felt odd, foreign, and far too tight. The rest of his exhale became a muffled whimper.

"You thought I wouldn't find out?" Aomine asked with a chuckle. "I would've torn you in half. The deal's off. Don't you dare waste my time again."

Kise wanted to protest. He felt like he could follow through, but he could only watch as Aomine walked back inside. Kise's knees felt too weak for him to follow. He stood leaning against the wall for a couple of minutes, just to make sense of what had happened. Had that been the real Aomine? Callous, insolent and bad-tempered? Maybe Kise had just come at a bad time. He had caught him right after a fight with someone that clearly had a great effect on him, after all.

Kise took a cab back home, and snuck into his bedroom so as to not awake his parents, and to not get a second scolding. He stared up at his ceiling for a while. A small voice in the back of his head reminded him every now and then that he had a seminar early in the morning and that he should sleep, but he wasn't in the mood to think of school. Instead he occupied himself with the memory of Aomine pressed up against him in that alleyway; the heat of his voice, and his intention of taking Kise right there and then.

It seemed surreal now.

Kise had had a few drunken nights with girls from his class. They usually approached him, and he liked that they did. They always had nice things to say about his modeling, they'd giggle at his jokes, and blushed when he smiled at them. Most of the time he hoped that he'd fall for one of his admirers; that a night of passion would reveal the soul mate he had been looking for all along, but that never happened. His insecurities just grew when he only managed to feel emptier the more people he got to know. He couldn't bunch Aomine into that. Aomine wasn't part of the collective boredom Kise called friends.

Act or not, there was something in the way Aomine looked at him. A certain danger that attracted Kise, and made him want to hang on. Just being in Aomine's presence made it easier to breathe and forget the multitude of obligations that threatened to suffocate Kise on a daily basis. Judging by the amount of people flocking to Tōō, he wasn't the only one that felt like this, but he wanted to believe that his feelings could come to mean something to Aomine one day, and for that to happen, Kise had to hang on and make Aomine notice him.


	4. First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)  
> A/N: Continuation of last chapter's flashback. Nsfw.

* * *

Aomine had gone to Tōō early for breakfast the past few weeks. The silence in his apartment was driving him insane, and he could only throw so many cups against the wall before his neighbors started to complain. Imayoshi had wanted to comment on this new habit of Aomine's since day one, but he had refrained by some miracle and left it alone.

Aomine sat by the bar, dipping a croissant into his cup of milk and tea. Imayoshi came back from the currently empty kitchen, wiping his hands off onto the rag hanging from his belt.

"The others should be here any minute now," Imayoshi said with a quick glance to the hallway that led to the staff entrance. "We have some pretty good ideas for the spring parties. I didn't see any from you, though."

"I thought those were anonymous," Aomine said indifferently.

"I would recognize your handwriting. You should get more involved. It would do you some good to get your head mind off things and do something more productive than just fucking around."

Aomine rolled his eyes. Imayoshi was definitely curious about why Aomine was coming in for breakfast every day, and Aomine suspected he had at least half of the story figured out already. He just wanted Aomine's take on it. He had the question at the tip of his tongue, Aomine could sense it, and maybe it was only fair to tell Imayoshi already. The guy had made it for a little over a month after all, but before Imayoshi got the chance, Himuro sat down on a stool by the bar and hid a yawn behind his hands.

"Lemon water, bartender," he said and smiled.

"I'm off the clock, go get it yourself," Imayoshi said, and matched Himuro's smile.

"C'mon, just hand me the bottle over there and give me a glass. I have great ideas for summer parties, too, you know."

Imayoshi reached for the bottle, opened it, and handed it over to Himuro along with a glass and a croissant with chocolate filling on a plate.

"Why does he get the one with chocolate?" Aomine was quick to ask with his croissant mid-air.

"Because he puts ideas in the idea box."

"You can have it if you tell me why you've had such a long face lately."

"Good one," Imayoshi said with thumbs up in Himuro's direction.

"It's none of your business." Aomine turned his attention back to what was left of his breakfast, intending to finish quickly and leave before Imayoshi pushed the subject any further.

"Actually, it is. It's affecting your job." Imayoshi looked at Aomine with an unusually serious expression.

"You said it'd be good for me to stop fucking around."

"I'm not telling you that you should keep doing all the jobs you've been doing up until now, but you're screwing us over by being rude to the customers. If you don't wanna do house calls anymore, that's fine, but make a smooth transition for the customers. Give them to someone else."

"Like me, I could use some extra cash," Himuro said.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get my act together." Aomine reached for a pack of cigarettes in his back pocket and a lighter.

"Is it just me or do you smoke a whole lot more than before?" Himuro asked, and smiled again when Aomine glared at him. "It's not good for you, Aomine. Doesn't the smoke bother sweet, precious Kuroko?"

"What? Is that what this has been about? Are you having problems with Kuroko?" Imayoshi asked surprised.

"No."

"Has something happened to Momoi?"

"No! It's nothing, alright!" Aomine lit the cigarette and took a deep drag as if his life depended on it. "... he just... found out about what I do, and we had a fight. He won't pick up my calls. Satsuki tells me to give him time, but…" Aomine's leg shook. He took another deep drag, but it wasn't enough. Before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed his cup and tossed it at the closest wall with brute force. The sound of the porcelain crashing into pieces was oddly soothing. Imayoshi and Himuro stared at him, taken back by the action.

"Aomine," Imayoshi began. "He'll come around. Did you tell him why you're doing this?"

"No."

The ones that had been at Tōō the longest knew about Aomine and Kuroko. They didn't know everything, but enough to be aware of how important Kuroko was to Aomine after all the things he had been through.

Imayoshi had known Aomine since high school. He had seen a lot of ups and downs and nothing had brought Aomine further down in life than a run in with the Yakuza. Aomine never intended for anyone else to get involved with the only life he saw as an option after his grandmother passed away, but Momoi followed him everywhere, always worried for him, and in her worry she forgot about herself and ended up in a place she couldn't get out of as well. Debt had tied them both down, and Aomine was working to get her a new start in life, to give her something back for the years he felt that he had made her waste.

"Why not?" Himuro asked almost annoyed. "What's with you and communication? You have to tell him as soon as possible why you're doing this. Don't give him time to fill in the blanks 'cause that'll worsen things by a lot. You should go and talk to him as soon as you get the chance."

"But he won't talk to me. That's the problem."

"Tell Momoi to set you up! She can bring him to a public place or something where they 'unexpectedly' meet you, and then you talk it out. You've found something good there, Aomine. It's not common for people like us to find what you have, so, don't let go."

"You're gonna turn him into a stalker, Himuro."

"I'm, uh, sorry about the cup." Aomine said, fiddling with the napkin on his plate. What Himuro had said made it seem as if there was still a chance after all. He could still fix this. He just needed to make a plan and ask Momoi for help and hope that Kuroko would understand.

"That's okay, I'll deduct it from your salary."

"Whatever. Do I have any clients today or have I scared them all off?"

"You have one." Imayoshi said and reached for his pad of post-its underneath the counter. "I think it might be a new one, unless you've been moonlighting. Here's the address. This is a big one so don't screw up."

Himuro hurried over to them when Imayoshi gave Aomine the post-it and Aomine's eyes widened. He quickly read the address and gave Aomine a pat on the back with a laugh.

"That is a big one."

Aomine's new client lived in central Azabu, the most upscale residential area in the whole of Tokyo. In a penthouse, too, if the number of the floor was anything to judge by.

"Seems like it's a kinky client, you'll be bringing an arsenal of toys," Imayoshi said with a sigh and quickly adjusted his glasses.

"The richer they are...," Himuro said, and went back to his seat. "I'm still jealous of you Aomine. If you don't like him, toss him over to me, will ya? I'd love to see the inside of a penthouse in Azabu."

-x-

Aomine walked fast from the subway station, following the map Imayoshi had drawn for him before he ended his shift at the club. He was a little nervous about this encounter. This was probably the biggest account that had landed on his lap, and it could change everything. If this became a regular thing, he could give Momoi the stable life she deserved. She could go back to college and get her degree. She wouldn't have to waste her life away anymore.

Aomine had to dry his palms off against his pants. This was one thing he couldn't screw up. He adjusted the strap of the black gym bag on his shoulder. Imayoshi hadn't been joking around when he said 'an arsenal of toys'. Hopefully, the guy would offer him a glass of wine, or a bottle of vodka to drink before they did anything. Aomine would need the boost.

He took the elevator to the top floor. The elevator music wasn't doing him any favors. He paced in the elevator and then stopped to look in the wide full-figure mirror to make sure he looked good. The elevator let out a soft pling and then a female voice informed him that they were on the 20th floor as the doors slid open. Aomine didn't even take the time to appreciate the spacious hallway he had to walk down to get to the one door on this floor.

The door stood ajar. Aomine pushed the door up slowly and stepped inside. It closed behind him, but he was far too awestruck by the grand penthouse to hear it lock. There was a path of petal roses leading down a sparsely decorated hallway. There were aromatic scent candles here and there giving off a creamy scent of vanilla.

"What the fuck…" Aomine mumbled. He took his shoes off and hung up his coat on the coat hanger. There was no other choice but to follow the path of petals and deal with what was to come. The path led him into a bedroom that looked like something taken out of a luxurious interior design magazine. The covers on the queen-sized bed were a match of wine-red and creamy white, with a bunch of fluffy pillows. The furniture was in dark cypress wood with beautiful carvings. The room wasn't overly big in size, it was intimate and warm.

Aomine put the bag down by his feet and scratched the back of his head, wondering where his client was. All of this was starting to make him uncomfortable and the only thing keeping him there was the thought of the money.

A door slid open on the far left wall that Aomine had mistaken for a built-in closet. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it sure as hell wasn't what he saw. The blonde model-guy from the night of his fight with Kuroko stood there in a thin bathrobe that came half-way down his thighs. He quickly took out the pins from his hair when he noticed Aomine standing there with a confused look on his face.

"Hi!" He he said, and smiled nervously. He brushed through his hair with his fingers quickly. "You might not remember me, but we've met before. I'm Ryouta Kise. I was over at Tōō about a month ago with a couple of friends. Moriyama couldn't stop talking about his girlfriend, and yeah, sorry, I'm babbling. I'm a little nervous, to be honest."

There was something about him that pissed Aomine off. It didn't bode well for their future as business partners, but Aomine couldn't help it. It had been obvious the first time Aomine remembered meeting him that he was loaded with money. Aomine had just never imagined that it would be on this scale. Kise was given the world on a silver platter and he did nothing with it. It made Aomine jealous and angry to see wealth of this magnitude and know that it all belonged to someone that didn't even have to work for it.

"Do you like wine? I brought a bottle. I've heard it's a really good wine, but I don't know. I don't drink wine for its taste... but, I thought that maybe you did? I have beer, too, if you prefer that." He walked up to a silvery bucket filled with shaved ice, and in it was a wine bottle. Two champagne glasses stood next to the bucket. 

Kise had clearly not done anything of this sort before. He didn't know what to expect of his purchase, and Aomine didn't feel bad at all about wanting to take advantage of that. Had Kise done his homework in business school, he'd know that a good businessman always makes informed decisions, as well as purchases.

"Before we do anything, we have to discuss rules and money," Aomine said sternly.

"Yeah, of course. Um," Kise jumped up onto the bed and moved over to the other side, the one closest to Aomine, and opened the first drawer of the nightstand. "One hundred and sixty-one grand for the night." Kise handed him a neat wad of cash easily, as if what he was giving Aomine was nothing more than his lunch money.

Aomine put the money in the outer pocket on his gym bag and stood back up to face Kise.

"I don't know if my boss told you of all the rules that apply. Kissing is not included, and I'm only here to midnight, after that I leave, and if any of your requests make me uncomfortable, I'm within my right to refuse."

"No kissing? At all?" Kise nearly pouted.

"Mouth. No kissing on the mouth." Aomine thought quickly about a price to put on it, eager to test the boundaries. "It's forty grand each kiss otherwise. Also, if you've read my profile, I don't do romance. I'm a straight-to-the-point kind of host. If you wanna fuck, I'm your guy. If you want the whole 'making-love' package, you're looking for someone like Himuro. I'm all business."

Kise glanced at the room quickly, seemingly acutely aware of the rose petals on the floor and on the bed as well as the candles giving off the dim light. He gave a quick nod.

"I know. I'm all business, too." Kise put his arms around himself. "How long does a kiss last?"

"Until you break for air."

"Okay. I just, wait right here, I'll be back in a second." Kise hurried out of the bedroom. He must have been gone for a minute or so before he came back in a haste. He reached Aomine a thicker wad of money. "I'd like five, please."

"You say when." Aomine looked Kise in the eye briefly when he put the money into his pocket. He seemed eager, or happy, or both. How couldn't he be? He had money coming out of every orifice in the penthouse. "Get on the bed and undress."

Things rarely went down like this unless the client had specifically stated that he or she wanted to be bossed around. The client made most of the rules, but Kise seemed blissfully unaware of what he was giving up and what price he was paying for it. He took his bathrobe off and tossed it onto an armchair in the corner next to the nightstand. He lay down on the bed, shivering slightly when he watched Aomine undress.

Aomine took a condom out of his gym bag and a small bottle of lube. He placed them on top of the dresser next to him and quickly stroked himself, closing eyes to easier go somewhere else, to a place, a memory, and a person that aroused him so quickly that it was almost embarrassing. He rolled the condom on and took a deep breath as he approached the bed, ready to make a living. 

"You still a virgin?" Aomine asked as he got onto the bed, slowly moving over Kise. He kissed up the middle of Kise's chest and placed long and wet kisses on Kise's neck, feeling Kise's breathing pick up pace.

"No."

"How many have you slept with?" Aomine moved back to get a look at Kise's face and smirked at his flushed cheeks.

"Hundreds."

"It's been a busy month, huh?"

Kise didn't answer. He looked at Aomine as if he was studying his every feature. He ran his fingertips up Aomine's shoulders, neck and jawline.

"I'd like a kiss now," he said softly. He leaned in closer and placed a gentle kiss on Aomine's chin and moved upward until he was nearly brushing his lips against Aomine's. It was annoyingly innocent and romantic. Aomine grabbed Kise by the hair and pulled him back ever so slightly. Without warning, he dived in. He draped his lips over Kise's in a forceful kiss. Kise fell back onto the bed, a moan caught between their lips as Aomine slipped his tongue into Kise's mouth. It was ravishing, and not what Kise had been prepared for, but even so, he went along with it, parting his lips whenever Aomine demanded entrance. Aomine kissed Kise until he could feel a slight burn for air in his lungs.

Kise was rubbing Aomine’s neck once he pulled back slightly, he played with the short hair at the back of his head, and while still breathing heavily, lips bruised, he asked, "Can I touch you?"

"Yeah."

"Anywhere?"

"Where do you wanna touch?"

"Everywhere."

Kise ran his arms around Aomine's neck, his legs around his waist, and rolled him over onto his back, straddling him. For a brief moment, for what Aomine thought would be the only moment, he allowed himself to enjoy the sight of Kise sitting on top of him, running his trembling hands down Aomine's chest while trying to cover himself at the same time. He traced his fingers down every contour of Aomine's muscles, mesmerized. He froze suddenly, the smallest of sounds escaping his lips when he felt the full heat of Aomine's erection against him. Aomine spread his buttocks apart as he sat up to kiss Kise's neck while his erection sunk in between Kise's voluptuous cheeks.

"Should I put it in?" Aomine asked teasingly, knowing full well the answer to that.

Kise shook his head. His hands were on Aomine's lower arms, his grip uncertain while he rested his head against Aomine's shoulder.

"Not, yet…"

"When I do, what position do you want to do it in? Do you wanna be on all four? Do you wanna ride me? Or maybe you'd prefer if I push your knees up to your chest while I pound into you?" Aomine asked in a low voice against the shell of Kise's ear, rubbing his soft buttocks. "You've been with hundreds of guys already, so you probably have a favorite position, no?"

"I don't care," Kise breathed, rocking his hips forward subconsciously when the tip of his cock brushed against Aomine. "I just wanna see you."

Aomine had to struggle to not roll his eyes, even though Kise couldn't see him right now. He laid Kise back down on the bed, spreading his legs wide.

"Don't move."

He walked over to the dresser and got the lube, squeezing some out onto his hand. At first, he was just going to push his forefinger inside to see if Kise was as tight as he had been that night in the alleyway, but as he ran his finger across Kise's hole and rubbed it gently, he saw Kise's chest rise and fall with quick, shallow breaths.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine…"

"Relax," Aomine said, slowly taking Kise's cock into his hand, only getting to stroke it once before Kise shook his head again.

"Chairman, chairman, chairman…" Kise said panicked through clenched teeth before a small breath caught in his throat, and he gripped at the sheets tightly as he squirmed. "I can't. I'll come."

Kise was making it really difficult not to tease him when they had barely started, and he was this aroused already.

"Come then."

"No, you'll leave if I do. I don't want this to end yet."

"I'm here 'til twelve, just come already."

"Promise?" Kise looked up at him, trembling with need that seemed to surpass that of lust. It resonated in his voice, and Aomine had to put him back in place.

“It’s a deal,” Aomine said sternly.

“Right,” Kise breathed, his gaze never wavering. “A deal.”

Aomine leaned down and wrapped his lips around the head of Kise's cock and slid his tongue across the slit slowly over and over before he took the rest into his mouth and sucked hard. It was all he had to do. Kise arched the small of his back, his hands over his mouth to muffle his cry, and he came. Aomine chose that exact moment to push a slick finger inside. While Kise came into his mouth, he pressed his finger up slightly, rubbing for a sweet spot that should be there, and it brought Kise to tears.

Aomine slid a second finger inside and watched the effect it had on Kise. He'd be lying if he said it didn't make a wave of heat rush down his groin, making him harder still. Kise's bruised lips were slightly parted, wet and inviting. His cheeks were flushed. His eyes were partly hidden behind locks of blond hair until he tossed his head back at a particular stroke of the fingers inside him, and his lips formed around a low moan that made Aomine shudder with desire.

"What's your name?" Kise asked in a heated whisper and looked up at Aomine. "Your first name, I mean."

"Daiki," Aomine answered without thinking. He was being gentle, he realized. He wasn't gentle with his clients. That was a side he generally tried to save for those that mattered to him, and though he had concluded that this person here could piss him off with presence alone, there was something about all of this that made Aomine keep his own feelings in check. Whatever Kise said about the matter, it was still painstakingly clear that this was his first time doing anything like this. Not having sex in general perhaps, but bottoming, being with a man, being fingered until he came again, and Aomine couldn't bring himself to test Kise's boundaries now when he was brand new to this.

"Daiki..." Kise cradled his name in his mouth, closing his eyes briefly, a small smile playing on his lips when Aomine ran his hands up his hips.

He should have chosen Himuro for this. Himuro was known for his romantic displays of feigned affection. He was one to appreciate rose petals everywhere and scented candles. Aomine could only appreciate those things when he was with someone he loved and cherished. He wasn't with someone like that now. He was in the midst of selling himself and hurting someone that had come to mean the world to him. The vivid memories of that fateful night flashed before Aomine's eyes like they had done so many times before. He thought that he had done a good job covering his tracks; Kuroko didn't need to know what he did during the nights they weren't together, but the second he'd laid eyes on Kuroko that night, Aomine knew that Kuroko had found out.

Kuroko didn't have to say anything. The hurt and betrayal in his eyes said everything. He had walked up to him, he had tried to speak but his voice was thick with the lump of tears in his throat. He had simply pushed an envelope to Aomine's chest, and when Aomine was about to put his hand over his, Kuroko moved away with a small shake of his head, a single tear running down his face.

Aomine gulped, trying to shake the continuation of the memory out of his head. The guilt and frustration turned into anger, one he couldn't hold back even when he wanted to try. He gripped Kise's hips tightly. He barely heard Kise's choked whimper when he pushed into his tight heat without warning. A part of Aomine hoped to hear the safe word as soon as he started to pound into him, but it never came, and it only fueled Aomine's loathing for himself and for Kise all the more.

If Aomine hadn't been into his own world and letting it spill over Kise, he would've found the time to ask himself how it was possible for someone to take an act of near aggression and accept it as easily as Kise did.

The sound of Kise’s voice lingered in his head long after the deed was done. The image of Kise in the aftermath, with his cheeks flushed, blond locks framing his face, moaning softly, was harder to get rid off, and Aomine prayed to God that he wasn’t in trouble.


	5. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader:[Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)

* * *

Life in not only one, but two casts, became confining even for the calmest of persons, and by the time Kise was about to be finally free of them, he was so full of energy that he nearly vibrated out of them. Midorima had been less than enthusiastic about getting the casts off. They had been in some unsanitary back room at the club one late morning, and it just wasn't fit for an aspiring young doctor like Midorima to be doing something like that. He had done it nonetheless, but only because Takao had asked him to, and because he didn't want to reveal to Takao quite yet that he wasn't really treating members of the Yakuza as a full-time job.

"You might feel some discomfort during the coming weeks, so don't overdo it," Midorima said sternly and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Doctor's orders!" Takao added gleefully and ran his arms around Midorima's neck and snuggled him from behind. Midorima's expression didn't change, aside from faint blush on his cheeks.

"Alright, so I guess we can leave all this behind us now." Imayoshi sighed with relief. At least he didn't have an injured politician's son in his indirect custody anymore. "Break time's over, people. Morning staff meeting in the conference room."

Aomine yawned widely and stretched his arms up in the air and then let them flop back down to his sides. He was too tired to be bothered with anything right now and he fully blamed Kise for it. Kise had been so excited about getting out of his casts that he couldn't sleep and he had woken Aomine up at five in the morning, after Aomine had gotten a whole of two hours of sleep, to ask him if he wanted anything special for breakfast on this special day.

"Can I come too?" Kise asked and tried for his best puppy-dog look. They had staff meetings every other day, and for the almost two months Kise had been with them, he had never been allowed into a single one.

"No," Imayoshi said easily. "You're not part of the staff."

"But I work here." Kise pouted.

"And you better keep working. I hear you have a substantial debt with Aomine, and unless you want him to come for you kneecaps, you better start making money, blondie."

"Aominecchi!" Kise whined before Aomine had the chance to leave the room.

"Don't get me involved."

"You're the most involved one here!" Imayoshi said annoyed. "Blondie, get to work. This place has to be spotless by opening time or you'll get the boot!"

"Don't listen to him, Kise," Takao said and patted him on his back. "He's just low on sugar right now, but don't slack, or he might actually follow through."

"You're making matters worse, Takao." Midorima got up from his seat and stuffed the casts in a plastic bag. "Kise, you have to earn your place amongst your peers, only then will they respect you enough to let you participate in the staff meetings."

"They don't respect me?"

"Of course not. You're a rich kid who hasn't faced a single obstacle in life without the utmost privilege. Your current peers are people who have been hardened by the harsh reality of life on the streets."

Takao watched Kise's bright expression from when he was getting his casts off turn into a sullen one when what Midorima said sunk in.

"Shin-chan, I think you just made everything a million times worse," Takao said and pointed discreetly at Kise's face from where he stood.

"No, I'm fine, I'll work hard, and I'll earn my place." Kise jumped out of his seat with new determination showing in his eyes. "I've made a decision! I'm gonna be a host too! That'll show 'em!"

"What? No, that's not what I-" Midorima stuttered.

"Definitely a million times worse, Shin-chan." Takao gaped when Kise hurried out of the room to start with his last day of cleaning up.

-x-

"Absolutely not!" Aomine said when Imayoshi took too long to protest and shut down Kise's outrageous decision.

"Why not? You do it! I can be every bit a good a host as you are. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna become the number one host of this place and I'm gonna cover you all in cash."

"I love the sound of that," Himuro said eagerly. He was the only one aside from Imayoshi and Aomine who had stuck around after the morning staff meeting.

Kise looked at Himuro, eyes slightly wider as he made a quick mental note of him. Kise hadn't been introduced to any of the other hosts except for Takao. Imayoshi had made it clear to him that he should keep to himself and not make any acquaintances with his staff until after he was out of the casts, but preferably, not at all. Kise figured that this was a good a time as ever to introduce himself to a new colleague. With luck, he might even make a friend that he was in desperate need of at the moment.

"Hi!" Kise said cheerfully. "I'm Ryouta Kise. I'm a new host here. I hope we can get along and learn lots of things from each other." Kise bowed quickly and decided to go with one of his adequately charming smiles to fully win Himuro over, but Himuro's expression suddenly changed into one of disbelief while he ran this new information through his brain.

"Stop it. You're not working here as a host. I'll kick you out," Aomine said and crossed his arms.

"You don't have a say, Aominecchi! Imayoshi is the boss here, and he will decide whether I become a host or not. Or I might as well go somewhere else and earn them a buttload of money. I'll take all of your clients and then you'll have to pay me rent."

"No fucking way!" Himuro said at last, bumping his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Look what you've done," Aomine snapped. "Himuro will sell you out to whomever offers him a dime."

"Are you the Ryouta Kise? Aomine's former client, loaded with money with a penthouse in Azabu?" Himuro asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah?" Kise was secretly hoping that Himuro might have been one of his fans from his modeling days. At least that would give them something to talk about.

"I thought you didn't shit where you eat, Aomine?" Himuro turned to Aomine with a smug look on his face.

"Imayoshi, why aren't you saying anything? Tell Kise that it's a stupid idea and that he should be fired on the spot for suggesting it."

"Because," Imayoshi began with a sigh, "it might actually not be such a bad idea."

"What?!" Both Aomine and Himuro seemed equally shocked.

"Really?" Kise beamed. "I won't disappoint you, Imayoshi. Does this mean I get a raise? How much do I earn as host? Do I get more as the number one host?"

"You're not number one, idiot. Imayoshi, what the hell? It's a huge fucking risk putting him on the floor."

"I know, but think about it," Imayoshi said with a resigned shrug.

"Are you worried about me, Aominecchi?" Kise smiled, and nudged Aomine with his elbow, but his question went ignored.

"We could use some fresh blood, and Kise has the looks, with some training we could turn him into something else other than a blabbering idiot, and who knows? He might be right. He could give you a run for your money."

"Am I allowed in staff meetings now? That's a condition of mine. I refuse to accept the job offer if I don't get to be a part of the staff meetings."

"That's it. I'm out. You idiots handle this." Aomine took his jacket and walked toward the exit.

"Aominecchi, wait for me!" Kise grabbed his coat and put it on. "We'll have to sort out the details later."

"Don't forget that you two are responsible for Takao's anniversary cake," Imayoshi called after them and hoped that he wouldn't have to regret his decision making Kise into a host.

-x-

The first train ride, out of two, to Kiba Station had been awkward. Aomine wasn't talking to Kise. He stared out the window without as much as an angry glance at Kise, and the silent treatment was really starting to take its toll on the blond who did his best to look regretful. The train ride was eleven minutes long. They got off at their station and waited for the next train that would take them to Kiba where they would go to a supermarket to get the ingredients for Takao's cake.

"Aominecchi, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have signed us up for this if I had known that you'd hate it."

There was an annoyed glare, at least. Progress.

"If you honestly believe that I'm upset about the cake, you are far beyond an idiot."

"Is it because I'm a host now? Don't worry, I won't take all of your clients."

Aomine turned to Kise fully, somehow managing to convey annoyance with his whole body as he glared at Kise. "Is this a joke to you?"

"No, Aominecchi, it's not!" Kise frowned sadly, unsure what to say to make the situation better. "I will put effort into this, and I think I might actually have a shot at paying you back for everything now. The pay is based on provision, right? So, if I meet a certain quota every night, you'll have your money in no time."

"You don't have a need to do this, how is that hard to understand?"

Kise looked at Aomine, eyes wide. Maybe he was hoping for too much, maybe he had misheard and was over-analyzing something he had misunderstood, but for a split second it felt like Aomine genuinely cared for him, if only a little.

The train swooshed past them before it came to a slow halt. Aomine walked in as soon as the doors slid open. He sat down on a seat by the window, his hands in his pockets, and he waited for Kise to sit down in front of him to continue with what he had to say.

"Go back to your parents. Apologize for whatever you did to make them kick you out and live a comfortable and easy life with the shit-ton of money your dad's made for you."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Kise sighed, suddenly annoyed too because this wasn't the first time he told Aomine this.

"Because you're not there. And I like you a lot."

"For fuck's sake!" Aomine ran his hands through his hair roughly and scratched the back of his neck before he looked up and around to make sure that no one was listening. "I'm not your friend, alright? I'm not your boyfriend, or lover, or a substitute for someone that used to be. You were my client once and you're not anymore, so basically, all you are right now is an eyesore. Go back to your parents."

Kise stared down on his sleeve and fiddled with the hem of it. What he hadn't told Aomine, or anyone else for that matter, was that he hadn't just been thrown out, his father had essentially signed his death sentence by putting a price on his head. His father would rather have him dead than alive as a shame and disgrace to the family name. Kise hadn't even told Aomine that the reason he had been thrown out in the first place. An envelope containing explicit pictures of them in bed had made it to his father's office thanks to an old friend.

If he gave up on Aomine, there would be no one left.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Fine, suit yourself. I did what I could to talk you out of it." Aomine looked back out through the window, clenching his jaws.

Kise glanced at him every now and then to see if Aomine was any less angry now than a few seconds ago. When it seemed like he wasn't, Kise felt the need to smoothen things out a bit while he gathered the courage to not only tell Aomine the truth, but also hear himself say out loud that he was enough of a pain that his own father wanted to have him murdered.

"Aominecchi," Kise said softly and nudged Aomine's knee with his own. "Being a host can't be that bad, you got to meet me, right?" Kise didn't know if he meant it as a joke or if he was looking for some sort of confirmation that maybe he had been the light at the end of the tunnel, the good of a bad day, or that Aomine had in some small way benefited from knowing Kise and that he wasn't just an eyesore.

"Right. God's gift to Earth…"

Kise rose from his seat angrily and walked to the other side of the train car, flopping down onto an empty seat with his back turned to Aomine who didn't even bat an eye when Kise left. For the first time in over a month, Kise was struck by the thought; _I want to go home_. The home he knew was in another time, however. He was fully aware of that, but it didn't make the scenario in his head any less tempting to long to. In that alternate universe, he'd call it a day here and hurry back home to tell his sisters about the rude man he'd met on the train today.  He'd give them all the details about his conflicting feelings and they'd be in the kitchen for hours, snacking and talking while they waited for their mother to come home to fill her in on their conversation. That's how it had been before, when Kise had dated girls in junior high. It would've been great if it could have been the same now. He missed them and the company and comfort they had offered him, and now, he didn't even have a picture to remember them by.

Kise wiped tears out of his eyes, annoyed that there were tears at all. He didn't turn back to look at Aomine in case he got off at their station without telling him. He'd go with the train to the end station if it meant not having to be the one to give in first. When nearly twenty minutes had gone by, Kise was certain that Aomine had gotten off already and left Kise to fend for himself. That's what he wanted after all, to show Kise that the world didn't function the way Kise was used to. Only a privileged few knew that world, and Aomine, much like his father, seemed keen on making sure that Kise knew how awfully spoiled and ungrateful he was.

"Hey." Aomine poked him on the shoulder half-heartedly, and only once. "We're off next."

Kise followed Aomine out of the train and up the stairs to get to the supermarket. He tried to hide behind the collar of the coat Aomine had lent him, but the collar didn't go up that high.

"I'm sorry if I upset you back there. I'm a little on edge today," Aomine said.

Kise looked up from the ground and glanced at Aomine from where he was walking a few steps behind him. Kise wanted to stay angry at Aomine for a little longer, and he didn't like how quickly Aomine's apology dissolved his uneasiness from before.

"Why?"

"Because stuff," Aomine said, trying to not sound annoyed. "Don't worry about it. Do you know what we're buying for the cake?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," Kise said thoughtfully. "We usually got our cakes at a bakery in a backhand alley near Ginza. They make the best cakes. For my birthday, I'd get a Xante D'or with golden leaves around the edge and my name would be written in gold, too. When I was little, my mom used to say that yellow was my color and that I was worth my weight in gold, and my birthday is during summer, in June, so that's why she had the pastry chef make the cake like that... the leaves made the cake look a bit like the sun." Kise smiled softly at his childhood memory.

"Yeah, I don't think you'll find anything like that at the supermarket."

"I thought we could make one for Takao. I'm not very good at baking. How about you, Aominecchi?"

"No."

"We could assemble one. We buy the cake base, some whipped cream, strawberries and jam, and make a strawberry shortcake!"

The supermarket was huge, nothing like the smaller shops Kise was used to, not that he had gone out for grocery shopping much in his lifetime. Aomine took a cart and walked in without as much as a look around. Kise tried to keep up, but had to stop when he saw that ten noodle packages were sold for a 1000 yen.

"Aominecchi!" Kise dragged Aomine back and got a tired sigh out of him.

"Let's just focus on the cake, alright?"

It took them nearly a half hour to finish shopping for the cake. Kise couldn't believe some of the offers they walked by. The store was almost giving things away for free, and then he reminded himself that he was still stuck believing that he had infinite amount of money, when he truly could barely afford the offers he thought of cheap. It didn't stop Kise from sneaking past the aisle for sweets. He found quite a lot of change when he cleaned around in the club, and he felt like treating himself to something good.

"Wow, I didn't know they still made these!" Kise said happily as he unwrapped a strawberry flavored block of ice cream on a stick. They walked across the parking lot, on their way back to the station. "Do you want one, Aominecchi? I bought one for you too."

"You used Imayoshi's cake budget to buy ice cream?" Aomine asked in disbelief, clearly annoyed.

"No, I bought this with my own provisions." 

"You don't get provisions."

"I do too. I keep the change I find. That's my provisions."

Aomine glanced at him with a small, amused smile and shook his head slightly.

"No, thanks. I don't like ice cream."

"What? How can you not like ice cream?"

"I just don't."

"Hmm." Kise dug right in, nibbling at the sides of it, doing his best to not let his impatience make him take a bite to enjoy it for as long as possible. "By the way, do you want to take turns carrying the bag?"

"It's not heavy."

The sound of a car horn made Kise look to where he thought the sound came from. He couldn't have looked away for more than a second. It was all the time Aomine needed to lean in and take a huge bite of Kise's unguarded ice cream.

"Aominecchi! You said you didn't want any!" Kise looked at the missing chunk and then at Aomine who seemed a little too pleased with himself. "Yours is still in the bag, you know."

"Yours looks more appetizing," Aomine said with a shrug and wiped the sides of his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's good. Maybe we should've gone for an ice cream cake."

"That's a really good idea. We could do it for our next celebration. You want another bite?" Kise held the ice cream out for Aomine. Aomine didn't hesitate to take Kise up on the offer. Kise smiled and brought the ice cream to his lips as soon as Aomine was done with it.

"Oh, finally." Aomine dug his hand into his pocket and quickly swallowed what was left of the ice cream before he answered his vibrating phone. "Hello? I'm at Kiba, close to the station. You?"

Aomine smiled as soon as he heard the voice on the phone. It wasn't any kind of smile Kise had seen on Aomine before, not even when Momoi had come around to the club. He almost seemed like a different person, the way he looked down onto the pavement sheepishly with that goofy smile, it made his eyes fill with such tenderness.

"No, I'm not busy. I can come right over. Alright, stay right there." Aomine stopped and turned away from Kise, and spoke with a lower voice. "It's fine. We can hang out at my place. Okay. See you." He hung up and tried to sigh his giddiness out of his system. It didn't help him wipe the remains of that smile off his face.

That uneasiness from before made its way back, and as Aomine turned to face him with that foreign look on his face, Kise thought for the second time in these past two hours; _I want to go home_.

"I have to go. Here." Aomine gave him the bag with the ingredients for the cake. "Tell Imayoshi that something important came up, he'll understand. You know the way back, right? Tozai Line to Kudanshita, change to Shinjuku Line and get off at Shinjuku. You can use my old phone to call Imayoshi if you get lost." Aomine handed him an old cell phone that he dug out from his other pocket. "Kise?"

"Yeah." Kise smiled with a nod, but took the phone anyway. "I know the way back."

"Alright. Later."

Aomine hurried across the street, and it was a familiar sight to see. It seemed that Aomine had always been running away from him, and Kise was starting to think that maybe it was better to have no one at all, than to live with this constant dull ache in his chest.

-x-

The improvised strawberry short cake stood as a centerpiece right in the middle of the counter by the bar where all the employees of Tōō had gathered to celebrate Takao's first year anniversary as a host. Kise had been at the club all day long, cleaning and preparing for the intimate party. Imayoshi had forbidden him to go back to Aomine's place for the day, even when Kise told him he had to borrow clothes to look presentable on his first day as a host. He had been shown into the changing room where Imayoshi pulled out a clothing rack with a bunch of tacky outfits that Kise could choose from.

Kise sat by the bar, digging in his piece of short cake with a fork. He had gone for the least tacky outfit he could find on that rack, and all things considered, Kise thought he had cleaned up well.

"Isn't Aominecchi supposed to attend this?" Kise asked Imayoshi when he came within hearing range. "He's currently the number one host. Shouldn't he be here to give Takao some encouraging words and set an example for us?"

"We're doing this for fun, blondie. It's not a business meeting. Besides," Imayoshi chuckled. "Aomine won't be coming back until the eleventh hour. Believe you me. Shouldn't you be occupying yourself with something other than nagging about Aomine? Meet the rest of the club. Wasn't that what you wanted? Become one in the gang?"

"Not even Takao's here," Kise said instead and looked around for him.

"Yeah, I don't think he's gonna be here 'til the eleventh hour either. If he even bothers to show up. Hey, Izuki, help yourself to a slice of cake!" Imayoshi walked over to the other side of the bar before Kise could ask him about what he meant.

Kise looked at the small crowd. He wanted to get in there and find a friend. He was likeable enough, it wasn't an impossible mission, but right now, he felt too desperate. Desperation had never worked in his favor. Kise got out of his seat and decided to do some last minute work on his last day as Tōō's cleaner instead. There were a couple of cardboard boxes in the hallway at the back that needed to be brought down to the basement for storage. Kise picked up three and walked to the basement. Only a few loosely hanging lightbulbs on chains worked, and when Kise got down there, they were already lit. He didn't think much of it. He only planned on putting the boxes near the stairs and hurry back up to get the rest.

A sudden gasp caught his attention just as he was about to go back up. He stopped and listened. There was rustling of clothes, small gasps and moans, and wet sounds that Kise hadn't heard in forever. He gulped, gripping the handrail tightly.

"Ah... Shin-chan... faster…"

Kise knew he should go, but his feet were like frozen to the first step of the stairs. Midorima's usually stoic voice was heated, full of need and lust so sweet when he called for Takao between low grunts.

"Not yet, Takao…"

Takao's voice broke into a whimper, and Kise knew that sound. He sounded exhausted, as if they had been going at it for a while, or as if Midorima had made him come already, and he was getting sated with pleasure. The reminder brought Kise memories of insatiable nights with Aomine, when whimpers and broken moans were all he could muster as he was taken over and over again. Midorima seemed more into it than Aomine had ever seemed to be. Of course, he'd be. Aomine had been doing a job, Midorima was doing the love of his life.

"Kise! Where the hell are you? You need to see this!" Imayoshi's voice came from the floor above, but that didn't seem to halt the two lovers in the slightest. Kise hurried back upstairs as quietly as he could and closed the door after himself.

"I'm here," he said and waved at Imayoshi. Kise was dragged back to the bar where the party seemed to have come to an early end. Imayoshi had pulled out a small, and very old, television set. He pointed at it and cranked up the volume.

"Ryouta Kise has been missing for nearly two months, and the Tokyo Police has no new leads. Due to Isami Kise's firm beliefs that Japan should have a stricter foreign policy, especially toward China, it has been largely believed that the Chinese Triads could be involved with the disappearance of his son. Congressman Kise called a press conference earlier today. He was unable to speak due to his poor health, so his wife, Yukio Kise spoke to the citizens of Japan in his stead."

Kise sat down onto one of the available stools by the counter when it started to feel like his legs were about to fold underneath him. The headline read "The Abduction of Ryouta Kise - Press Conference held by Yukio Kise". He didn't question the story. His dad had to come up with something to not only cover the truth, but to gain the sympathy of his followers and hopefully gain new ones.

They cut to where the reporter was standing in a large room at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Kise's mother was helped onto the stage by a man in a dark suit. He stayed beside her as she held onto the podium and leaned closer to the microphone. Her eyes were bloodshot, as if she had been crying for days on end. She was paler than usual. She put on her glasses and looked down at the sheet of paper that had been prepared for her, but instead of saying what was on the paper, her lower lip quivered. The man standing beside her had a box of tissues in case they'd be needed.

"Dear citizens of Japan, reporters and viewers alike, it's been two months since my son was abducted. We have searched, hoped, and prayed, every day since his disappearance, and all I want is for him to come home safe and sound." Her voice broke slightly, and the man beside her offered her a tissue that she refused. "I turn to you, in hopes that my plea will be heard; that my plea will reach my son's abductors, and that they will let him come back to us. To the citizens of Japan, I ask that you to be vigilant. If you have seen him, get in contact with the authorities, anonymous or not. Help us. Help me find my son."

Kise swallowed hard. His hands were cold, and he had to struggle to keep his tears from falling. That was the mother he knew; the mother that loved him unconditionally, who forgave him for his mistakes, and who was his home. It took everything he had to not run out of the club right this second and hurry back to where his mother was, to where his sisters could come, but he felt like he should stay. At least until Aomine came back so that he could say goodbye and thank him for taking care of him when he had no reason to.

"Hey, see there, blondie!" Imayoshi said with a big smile. "Your folks are waiting for you back home."

Kise could only nod in reply, afraid that he'd cry if he tried to say anything. He wiped the tears in his eyes with the back of his sleeve for the second time that day, but for a completely different reason, and he thought to himself; _I'm going home_.


	6. Orion's Belt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)

* * *

Aomine didn't make it to the club until right after opening. The queue to his podium was the longest one, and Imayoshi was about to give up when Aomine finally showed up, completely oblivious to the amount of people waiting for him. Kise caught a quick glimpse of him when Imayoshi led him inside. Aomine seemed relaxed and almost euphoric. He had a twinkle in his eye and a small smile he just couldn't get off his face. Kise could barely imagine Aomine's joy when he finds found out that Kise was finally about to leave.

The word about Aomine's charms spread like wildfire across the whole of Ni-chome. The queue to Aomine's podium grew longer by the hour, while Kise had yet to get a single costumer. No one seemed to be into beginners tonight. Kise got to help the waiters with their orders instead, and he didn't really mind. He was going home. This was his last night here, and once he returned to his family, he planned on getting his act together. He would put effort into his education, if only to stay on his father's good side. He didn't intend to persuade any romantic relationships, at least until he got over Aomine properly, and if it meant having his family beside him, he would never get involved with a man ever again. Today was the beginning of the rest of his life, and he didn't want to screw up again.

"Where do I take next order?" Kise asked when he got back to the bar again and saw Imayoshi had prepared drinks and put them on a tray.

"Nowhere. There's a costumer on your podium. They rang the bell. I didn't even see them come in. Make me proud, blondie."

Kise walked to his designated podium at the far end of the room, near the entrance. His couches were purple, and on them sat three men. All three of them had their arms covered in tattoos - everything from koi to tigers and dragons. Yakuza, Kise thought with a gulp.

"Have a seat," said one of the men, his eyes slightly droopy and his voice dark.

Kise nodded and sat down beside him with a smile he hoped covered his nervousness.

"Are you going to introduce yourself?" the same man asked with a devilish smirk. He stretched his arm behind Kise and rested it on top of the back of the couch, his fingers brushing against Kise's shoulder.

"Yeah, of course, I'm..." Kise paused to try to remember what name Imayoshi had given his host persona. "Yoshio Akira."

"Huuuh," the man drawled and inched in closer. "I happen to have it on good authority that your name's Ryouta Kise. Could it be that I'm mistaken?"

Kise nodded again, fidgeting slightly where he sat.

"Well, in any case, I must say that you healed up well. You were tossed around quite a bit back then, weren't you? I'm sure you didn't catch their names." The man gestured to the other two. "This big guy over here is Asakawa, your broken leg was his doing. That guy is good with organization so he basically planned it all. His name is Hanyo. I'm their humble leader, Makoto Hanamiya. It's nice to finally meet you in person. I've seen many, _many_ flattering pictures of you, and they still don't quite do you any justice."

"What do you want?" Kise asked as firmly as he could, certain that the horror he felt at realizing who these people were, was apparent in his eyes.

"Shhh," Hanamiya said with a soft shake of his head. "We're not here to break anything on you, _Yoshio_." He smiled again, and tilted his head slightly. "We're just here to check on you, that's all. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

Imayoshi couldn't see them from the bar, and Hanamiya had taken over the side of the table where Kise had been told the alarm button was. It didn't matter whether he could get to it or not, the only thing that mattered was not getting on Hanamiya's bad side.

"Because you saw the news, didn't you? Are you running home, Ryouta?" Hanamiya leaned in closer.

"You can't do anything to hurt me," Kise heard himself say. "They want me back."

Hanamiya's two underlings laughed and got a chuckle out of Hanamiya too. He twined his fingers around Kise's small ponytail with unnerving gentleness, and he leaned in close enough for Kise to feel his tobacco laced breath against the nape of his neck. A natural-born rejection surged within Kise. He wanted to shove Hanamiya away and call security, but he fought the urge, and sat still.

"They want you back, huh?" Hanamiya sat back slightly and made Kise look at him with a push of his finger on Kise's jaw. "I wouldn't make any rash decisions, if I were you. Why would they go out of their way to make up a kidnapping case if they just wanted you back? Do you know what the Triads are capable of if pissed off? Probably the same your angry daddy is capable of doing now. I'd know, we work very closely now. What's his is mine... on that level. And, uh," Hanamiya paused to laugh again, "He is so pissed that he wants to kill you himself. I told him that we could do it, but your old man insisted, Ryouta. It's all so finely set up. Isami s'got ten of my men set out around the area of his residence. They will notify him when they see you near, and when you get home, there's nothing but lead bullets waiting for you. You're a political ploy now, Ryouta. If the police finds you dead, your daddy gets to kick out all the Chinese and Korean filth."

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

"My mom wouldn't let him." Kise wanted to believe his own words, thinking anything else made him nauseous, but what Hanamiya was telling him made him think back on that night, when he was disowned, and the look of incomparable disgust in her eyes.

"Did you see the pictures, Ryouta? I'm sure you must have. I sent a neat envelope with explicit pictures of you being fucked in so many different ways by some guy that your father is convinced is a foreigner. It makes me wonder, if he'd prefer it if I fucked you instead, with his things being mine and all." Hanamiya ran his hand up Kise's inner thigh quickly, but Kise shoved him away.

"Stop it."

"Bottom line, your mother wants you just as dead. You failed her, golden boy. The son she knew is gone, and you're just an impostor."

"Why are you telling me this? Isn't this some kind of betrayal?" Kise didn't feel like he was inhabiting his body anymore. He was a mass of coldness, stuck in the company of these three. They weren't talking about him or his family. They couldn't be. The family he knew wouldn't go to such lengths to hurt him like this.

"I have my reasons. And here is a major one." Hanamiya leaned back and looked over Kise's head. "Aomine, long time no see. To what do we owe this immense pleasure? Did you run out of customers?"

"Kise, Imayoshi needs you at the bar," Aomine said sternly.

"Mid-service?" Hanamiya asked, sounding offended when Kise rose to his feet.

"Go." Aomine looked at Kise quickly.

Kise didn't stick around to hear the conversation between Hanamiya and Aomine. He couldn't get out of there fast enough. His head was spinning, and he wanted to cry but there was nothing inside of him, only a void. It was almost funny, the turns life made. Kise had been at the peak of happiness a moment ago. He had been ready to let go of his past, of Aomine, and this resemblance of a new life; he had been ready to forgive his father and change everything he was to get his place in his family back.

"Hey, blondie. What's with the face?"

"Aomine said you needed me."

"Aomine did? How the hell?" Imayoshi looked over at Aomine's podium where he could see at least four heads stick out from behind the half walls. "Are you sure it was Aomine? It's not like him to leave his clients by themselves. And what happened to your clients? Don't tell me you left them alone, too? I know that this is your only night, blondie, but have some work ethic!"

"Yeah, okay... I just," Kise began, disoriented.

"Hey, up here." Imayoshi slammed his hand against the counter to get Kise to look at him. "You wanted this chance, and I gave it to you. Do you know how easy it is to lose a client when there's a hundred other host clubs to go to?” Imayoshi stopped abruptly when he saw Aomine walk up to the bar. “And, fuck me gently with a chainsaw, Aomine, what the hell are you doing on the floor?! There are clients on your podium! There's a line longer than the Great Wall of China out there!" Imayoshi couldn't believe his eyes when Aomine showed up behind Kise, and he was about as interested as Kise had been in what Imayoshi had to say.

"You alright?" Aomine asked Kise and turned to Imayoshi when he got a nod in reply. "My table wants five drinks. They want to be surprised."

"And my waiters ain't good enough for them?"

"They wanted me to get it for them," Aomine said with a shrug. "Hanamiya was here just now. In Kise's booth, so you might wanna keep an eye out."

"And he didn't bum you out?" Imayoshi raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I don't think there's anything that can, not today,” Aomine said and drummed at the side of the counter lightly.

"Are you telling me I owe Izuki money?" Imayoshi asked, eyes wide with surprise and joy for his friend. He clearly knew something Kise didn’t.

"You and Himuro both." Aomine looked away quickly to hide a smile. Kise caught a glimpse of it. It was beautiful, breathtaking, to see happiness light up every feature of his face. Kise wanted to reach out and touch it, just to see if it'd feel as beautiful against the tip of his fingers as it did just watching.

"You're a god damn devil," Imayoshi said chuckling while he poured up the most expensive drinks on the menu.

_How much would it have been?_ Kise thought as he looked back down on the counter. For what price would Aomine have put on that smile for Kise to see, and make believe it was for him?

"Could I have one?" Kise interrupted. He wasn't aware that he had said that out loud until he felt Imayoshi and Aomine stare at him. "A drink. Could I have one?"

"Only if you can pay for it, blondie. Or if a client buys you one." Imayoshi turned on the tray. "The drinks, Sir Devil," he said to Aomine and watched him take the tray to his podium gracefully.

Kise was digging in his pockets, regretting buying the ice cream earlier. He put a total of a thousand yen on the counter; the whole sum in coins of a 100 and 50 yen. He partly looked up at Imayoshi, hoping that he looked pitiful enough to make his money worth at least one drink.

Imayoshi walked over to Kise to stand right in front of him and slid the money onto his hand. He counted it quickly and made Kise a drink.

"Don't take too long. You have to be ready for the clients. We're full, so some are bound to end up on your side of the court."

The eight hours to the end of the shift went by excruciatingly slow, and Kise could only endure them. He was going to need this job. Indefinitely. He could hear himself laugh at jokes he didn't understand once he sat with his customers, he saw faces he knew he wouldn't remember. The only customer he did remember was one guy with short brown hair and blue eyes. All he ordered were Screwdrivers. He had been awkward until his third drink, and after their third drink, Kise could swear that he saw Aomine in those blue eyes.

The lights and the music made the night into a chaotic mess in his head, and turned the silence into a loud buzz in his ears once he was in the privacy of Aomine's guest room, curled on top of the sheets on his bed. Kise hugged his pillow tightly, doing his best to close his eyes and fall asleep, but the weight that had settled on his chest made it hard to breathe, and kept him from getting any rest.

Kise sat up. He took deep breaths, but it still seemed like the air couldn't get past that weight. Hanamiya's words echoed in his head. They mixed with the memory of Hanamiya's smug smile, and his confession about being the one behind Kise's beating. A man like that could surely not be reliable, could he?

Kise hurried out of his room, breathing heavily, clutching at his chest. It was late. Aomine was probably exhausted, but Kise either had to wake Aomine up, or he'd run back home to find out whether Hanamiya had told him the truth or not.

"Aominecchi?" Kise said quietly against the door and knocked on it. He sniveled and held back a sob to hear if Aomine was up, but there was nothing, and Kise knocked again. "Aominecchi?... I know that I probably can't afford it, but... I really need a hug right now… please?..."

A few seconds later, Aomine opened the door to his bedroom, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"What's going on?" he mumbled. A quick look at Kise was all he needed to forget how sleepy he was.

Kise wiped the tears off his face with the back of his hand, and smiled automatically.

"Are you crying?" Aomine walked up to Kise when he nodded. "Why? What happened?"

Kise was unable to answer. He tried, but the words wouldn't come out. He wasn't ready to believe it. He didn't want to. Aomine brought him in close for a hug, and his proximity dissolved the weight in his chest and turned it into tears. Kise hanged on tightly, shaking with sobs. He hadn't known how much he needed this, the reassurance that came with an embrace born out of sympathy. For a moment, it seemed that everything could be fixed, that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was, and that maybe he wasn't alone.

Aomine stepped back slowly. "I'm just gonna get my phone and a blanket. Put on a jacket and grab the white plastic bag I left hanging on the door, alright?"

Kise did as he was told and waited for Aomine right by the entrance, sobbing quietly. Aomine was quickly out of his room and put his sneakers and jacket on, catching one tear running down Kise's cheek with his thumb before he led Kise out to the hallway.

The old fluorescent lights flickered in the rundown hallway, revealing cracks in the walls and paint that was coming off the concrete. Instead of walking down the stairs, they went upstairs until they reached the fire escape door that had once been red, but was mostly brown with rust now. It creaked loudly when Aomine pushed it open, and again when it closed behind Kise.

"Did it lock?" Kise asked, and glanced back at the door.

"Nah. C'mon over here." Aomine had put the blanket down on the floor and sat down, giving the spot next to him a pat.

It was still dark outside. The stars twinkled on the night sky, and up here, past the fifteenth floor, away from all the city lights, the night sky became clearer. Kise sat down next to Aomine, and as soon as he did, Aomine laid down.

"What are you doing, Aominecchi?" Kise chuckled softly.

"Lay down. You'll like the view."

Kise lay down on his back next to Aomine, and looked up. A soft breeze blew through, ruffling Kise's bangs and made his eyes water. A quiet sob escaped him as he tried to focus on the sky instead of how close he was to Aomine right now. He couldn't even keep his heart in check in a moment like this when Aomine was only trying to cheer him up in such an innocent manner.

"See that?" Aomine pointed up to the sky and made a figure with his finger in the air. "That's the Big Dipper. It's basically the only constellation I know."

"What about Orion's Belt?"

"What about his belt?"

"It's a constellation, silly." Kise chuckled again. "It's like three stars in line." Kise drew a crooked line in the air and paused briefly by every star that he imagined. "Orion's Belt."

"You've seen it?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I don't look at the stars often. Or at all. I think I might have seen it in a movie once."

They fell into silence for a brief moment. Aomine put his hands behind his head, making sure that he didn't hit Kise with his elbow. He sighed.

"Rough first day?" Aomine asked finally.

"...yeah."

"You'll get better with time, y'know. Not everyone is like Hanamiya. Give it some time, and if it doesn't feel right, find something else."

"Like what?" Kise asked, and glanced at Aomine discreetly. Aomine seemed thoughtful, like he was actually trying to come up with a serious answer.

"How about modeling? Weren't you into that?"

"I didn't think you'd remember." Kise smiled and turned his attention back to the sky to hide the, hopefully faint, blush on his cheeks. "I don't think modeling would work out anymore."

"Why not?"

"Well, I'm not that young, and I've been out of loop for a long time, and it's pretty competitive out there. I'd need an agent, and they're expensive. It's a you-gotta-have-money-to-make-money kind of job." Not to mention that he’d be easier to find. Kise fidgeted slightly.

"Bull," Aomine said, and yawned widely.

"What do you know?" Kise sat up with a pout on his face and looked down on Aomine.

"If modeling is something you wanna do, you should find a way to do it, but if it isn't, don't come with excuses, alright? I'm not gonna judge you for not wanting to do something. There are agencies for newbies. You could start from scratch, call in favors, or whatever. "

"I guess." Kise laid back down. His heart was beating fast. He put his hands over his chest as an unconscious gesture to muffle the sound of it beating, although he knew that he was probably the only one that could hear it right now. With another quick glance at Aomine, Kise wondered how many times Aomine had come up here for serenity. It seemed like it had been the first thing he thought of when he saw Kise cry. Being here did help. It was like stepping into a whole other world.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Aominecchi."

"Don't mention it. You feel alright? Don't lie now."

"I feel better," Kise said and smiled at that last addition. "What's in the bag?"

"Stolen goods."

"Such as?" Kise leaned over Aomine to get to the plastic bag, and sneaked his hand in.

"It's some stuff left over from Takao's party," Aomine said, and snickered at Kise's curiosity. He didn't protest when Kise decided to rest his head on his chest while he took one of the large cookies in there that hadn't turned into crumbs. "I had a slice of that cake you put together. It was good."

"Really? I could make one for your birthday." Kise took only one small bite of the cookie and put the rest back into the plastic bag. He hid a yawn behind his hand and found himself getting comfortable on Aomine's chest, feeling his eyelids getting heavier by the second.

"Anyway, I didn't see Takao around. Did he leave early?" Aomine asked.

"Everyone left early. Takao was technically not one of them."

Aomine laughed. "Where did you find them?"

"In the basement."

"Seriously? There's mold down there. You'd think Midorima would notice."

"Well, he was sorta busy with Takao, so...," Kise blinked slowly as another breeze blew by. "Aominecchi?"

"Mm?"

"How do you know Hanamiya?"

"I used to work with him. For him. It got real ugly, real fast. I wouldn't recommend it as a career choice."

"Did you kill people?"

"Nah, it didn't get that ugly. I was more of a salesman. A mule. I didn't have a problem with it until Hanamiya felt it was time to prove my loyalty to the gang. I had to beat people up. Sometimes it was old guys with noodle shops that hadn't paid the rent, and I just didn't have it in me, but I kept at it. I thought that I'd get real power soon enough and lots of money to go with it… it didn't work out like that…"

Kise hesitated to ask more questions. He was afraid that he'd formulate them wrong and straight out ask him about Momoi when he knew that he had no business knowing about her.

"...how did it work out?" Kise asked finally.

"I have a friend that was in a lot of trouble back then, and it was my fault. I wanted the money to buy her out, but Hanamiya wanted to keep her. I went over his head and talked with his boss about making me paying her debt. Hanamiya found out. He tried to brand her, and I nearly killed him." Aomine took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, falling silent for a moment to gather his thoughts. "And now I'm at Tōō, working to pay off two debts to that dickhead and his associates. One, actually. Satsuki's free now."

Kise could hear a soft smile in Aomine's voice at the very end of his story. Kise smiled too while struggling to keep his eyes open. He wanted to stay awake, but he couldn't fight off the tiredness that came over him like a tide once he relaxed. He couldn't remember if Aomine said something else to him, or if he too fell asleep. All he knew was that by the time he woke up again, he was in his bed, cuddling a pillow instead of Aomine, and though he would have preferred to wake up to another sight, he smiled and hugged the pillow closer. Aomine might not return his feelings, but at least Aomine seemed to regard him as some kind of friend, and a friend was all Kise needed right now.


	7. Dog for Thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)

* * *

Days off work were rare, and mornings when Aomine could sleep in were even rarer after Kise moved in with him, but he sure tried. He closed his eyes tightly, rolling over onto his stomach and buried his head into his pillow to tune out Kise's voice calling the strange variety of his name in a bored, monotone voice after going at it for the past ten minutes. The crumbs of bread in his bed were harder to ignore. Kise sat right by the doorway to Aomine's bedroom, breaking toast apart and throwing it at him to wake him up.

"Aominecchi," Kise whined from where sat. "Wake up already. It's almost nine. Those kids really want their ball back... and we're out of bread…"

It just felt like a waste of time to point out to Kise that they were on the sixth floor and that no kid had the arm strength to throw a ball up that high. He was drifting to sleep again when his cellphone vibrated on his nightstand. Half a second later he had it against his ears, trying to sound as if he'd been awake for hours.

"Hello?" Aomine asked, half-sure of what voice to expect.

"Good morning, Aomine-kun." Kuroko's soft voice came through the other line.

Aomine rolled over onto his back and smiled. "What is it, Tetsu? It's not like you to call me this early in the morning. You miss me? I told you I could spend the night."

"I did miss you, actually. I know that you might want to rest today, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out or something?"

It was hard not to blush when Kuroko could be so unexpectedly honest and not seem embarrassed about it all. Their new relationship was just about six months old, and Aomine wanted to do it right, with as few screw ups as possible, but he wasn't sure how he would manage that when his mouth went dry and his palms got sweaty at hearing Kuroko ask him out.

"...like a date?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Aomine could hear Kuroko smile through the phone.

"At seven? We could go to a new place. Uptown, maybe?" Aomine was hesitant. He didn't want to come off as too dominant, which, according to Kuroko, had been one of his bigger issues.

"Seven it is."

"...do you want to have anything special for dinner?"

"Hmm," Kuroko sounded almost playful. "Surprise me."

Once he got off the phone with Kuroko, Aomine decided to get up and start his day. He had to find a good and nice restaurant to take Kuroko to, now that he had suggested they'd try something new, and fortunately, Kise's knowledge could come to good use. Aomine had spent some of his time as a delinquent in Ginza, but never for anything other than business.

"Kise?" Aomine got into sweatpants and a thin white T-shirt before he left his room and stretched his arms. Kise was nowhere to be seen. He had gotten easier to get rid of lately. He wasn't as insistent as before, although still enough to grate Aomine's nerves from time to time.

Aomine looked for Kise everywhere in his apartment, but he was nowhere to be found. He stopped and sighed as he noticed the small crumbs on the floor where Kise had sat and broken the toast into pieces to throw at him. There was only one place Kise could have gone; outside. Aomine put on a jacket and his sneakers and went downstairs. As he approached the door that stood ajar, he heard the bounce of a ball.

"A spectacular steal! Number seven wastes no time. He dribbles past the defense! He's past the defense and scores!"

Aomine stepped outside, his hands in his pockets as he watched Kise dribble past air and throw the ball into the old and torn basket on the uneven pavement of the small court. He found himself smiling at Kise's ridiculous victory stance as the make-believe announcer declared him and his invisible team winners.

"The crowd goes wild! Japan wins its first gold medal in basketball Olympics. What a historical day!"

Kise chuckled softly to himself and turned around with the intention to dribble the ball away from the basket, but he froze as soon as he saw Aomine stand there, and he dropped the ball as if it had caught on fire.

"I, uh, I got the ball down. It wasn't caught on your balcony. It was caught in some branches in that tree by your balcony." Kise pointed at the large maple tree by the building. "I climbed up and got it, so... crisis averted. Sorry that I woke you up."

"Where're the kids?" Aomine asked, and picked up the ball casually.

"I don't know. They must've left, I guess. They came by an hour ago." Kise shifted his weight from one foot to another restlessly, as if he couldn't get away soon enough. "I was going to buy some breakfast. Can I get you anything?"

"You play?" Aomine asked instead. He picked up the ball from the ground and tried something he hadn't done in years; he spun the ball on his forefinger. It didn't last as long as it used to in the past when the basketball was in essence an extension of himself. He took the ball when it fell off his finger and tried again.

"No, I don't," Kise said in an overly decisive tone, and then gulped. "I mean, yes. A little. Very little. I guess I played more when I was younger? It didn't quite work out."

Aomine rolled his eyes. "Yes or no, that's all I want to know."

"...yes."

"Let's play. One-on-one, first to ten. I start outside."

Kise got in position without even thinking about it as soon as Aomine dribbled up to a faint white line. Aomine didn't expect much, not from himself or from Kise. His golden days were past him, and given his history with smoking, Aomine suspected that his body wouldn't last long.

Kise watched his every move like a hawk, reading his movements and responding with him in what almost became a dance. Aomine saw an opening. He jumped up, the ball in a grip up high, ready to slam it into the basket. Kise got to the ball first. He pushed it out of Aomine's grip and brought it down with him and dribbled it to the other side of the basket, mirroring Aomine and dunked the ball.

"Only nine more to go." Kise rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and smiled.

"Don't get cocky."

"I'm just saying." Kise chuckled, and in that small moment of distraction, Aomine ran past him and dunked the ball in.

"You obviously talk too much," Aomine said with a smirk.

Time flew. They played until sweat ran down their faces in small droplets. They kept each other from dunking, quickly learning each other's tactics.

"You ready to give up?" Aomine asked through badly concealed gasps for air. Taking up cardio training seemed like a good idea for the future.

"Why should I? I'm winning."

"It's a tie, until I make the next dunk, that is."

"I'd like to see you try."

Aomine was tired. He could feel the strain in his legs. He was hungry, and Kise didn't seem to be in any better shape. Aomine couldn't let this go, however. He wanted to win even though he usually wouldn't bother with something as trivial as this, but Kise still had that unexplainable way of pissing him off, and right now that feeling would only go away if he won.

Half an hour later, they lay sprawled on the concrete, still one goal from settling the score, breathing heavily.

"I'm so hungry, but I feel sick," Kise said. "And sweaty. I had showered and all."

"I regret smoking,” Aomine panted, “So much."

"Oh, yeah, you used to smoke. What happened?"

"I stopped. Turned out that smoking is bad."

"I want breakfast. Is there a bakery nearby?"

"I think there might be one down the road."

"Are you coming with? My treat." Kise tried not to look too hopeful, but he gave it his best puppy-dog look anyway.

Aomine hesitated.

"Please, come with me. I might get lost if I go by myself and you get a complimentary breakfast."

"You've been here for half a year, how do you still get lost?"

"Bad sense of direction?" Kise said in that innocent manner of his. He pouted slightly and waited for Aomine to look back at him. "Please come with me?"

"Fine. We'll have to sit outside though. We probably stink."

Kise got up onto his feet happily, as if they hadn't just tired themselves out.

"Lead the way!" Kise smiled, clearly excited about the small trip. "Aominecchi?"

"What?"

"I was thinking, since I could get lost, and you can't be with me at all times, could I get your number?"

"Absolutely not," Aomine chuckled.

"Why? What if I get lost? Or if I get myself in trouble and need help?"

"Imayoshi is on speed dial, if you get lost call him, or you could always ask for directions. If you get in trouble, call the police. I'm not a knight in shining armor."

Kise pouted. "What if I just wanna talk?"

"I'm not giving you my number, Kise. Maybe I'll give it to you as a gift someday when I've lost my mind, or whenever I feel extra nice."

"You're so mean, Aominecchi."

There was a small bakery down the road that had just recently opened for business when Kise and Aomine arrived, their stomachs minutes from roaring with hunger. Aomine settled with a BLT-sandwich and a cup of tea, while Kise had seen it fit to order from half the menu.

"Are you really going to eat all of that?" Aomine asked, going for a tone of disbelief and mockery, but his hunger made him sound more hopeful than anything else.

"If you're half as hungry as I am, you'll probably dig in on this too. For everything else there are doggy bags."

There was something seductive about the way Kise ate, Aomine realized as they started of breakfast quietly. He would wet his lips with a small dart of his tongue while he gave his food a quick look, then he'd bring it to his mouth, and his moist lips molded around it as he took a bite. Aomine's sandwich didn't seem nearly as appetizing as Kise's Focaccia, and Aomine wasn't even fond of cheese. Before Kise could bring the half Focaccia to his mouth for a third bite, Aomine grabbed a hold of his wrist and leaned in to take a large bite himself. It was just as good as Kise had made it seem. Aomine couldn't even be bothered with the string of melted mozzarella between his lips and the Focaccia in Kise's hand while he chewed and savored his bite.

"Aominecchi!" Kise said in a half laugh. "There's another one right there on the plate!"

"Yours looked better,” Aomine said easily.

With amused resignation, Kise decided that they'd share everything. He'd take a bite and then Aomine could have a (normal-sized) bite, and the change of atmosphere – him feeding Aomine – didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

"Why was it so difficult for you to admit that you play basketball?" Aomine asked at last, slightly surprised with himself for starting the conversation.

"Childhood trauma. Open up." Kise fed him with a piece of melon from the fruit salad. "How about you? Where did you learn to play like that?"

"I used to play all the time when I was little. I got into the first string in middle school, at this basketball club in Teikou. We were pretty good."

"Are you serious?" Kise gaped. "Teikou?"

"Yeah. It wasn't that big a school, but still, you know, we were good. We did well in championships, and... stop staring."

"I went to Teikou! I wanted to try out for the basketball club, but I got into an…" Kise paused suddenly as if he was at loss of words. "...accident the day before, and I didn't make it to the tryouts. I got stuck with archery instead. Apparently, it's more traditional." 

The bright smile Aomine had been seeing on Kise most of the morning turned sullen at the memory, and he looked down onto the plate of fruit, suddenly preoccupied with a piece of pear. Before Aomine could say anything, Kise cut in, the spark back in his eyes. "This is going to sound so weird, and it's really long overdue. I just didn't have the guts to say it back in school, not that our paths would've crossed back then. Wow, I never…it never occurred to me that you’d be the ace of the basketball team from middle school! You don’t look at all like I remember you."

"Kise," Aomine sighed tiredly.

"Sorry, it's just hard to believe that you were the one, you know? Not, _the_ one, I mean, you know what I mean." Kise grew all the more flustered by the second. "I got to see two games. One practice and one championship," he paused at the memory as if he was seeing it right before him. "It was so amazing. My mind was blown right out of the water. I think everyone was amazed by the way you played. It was so fluid. I couldn't participate, but I would've loved to. After seeing you play, I really wanted to be as good as you. Middle school was a bit of a rough time for me, and playing basketball sort of made things easier."

"So you played back then too?"

"Yeah. We lived in a house at the time and the driveway was pretty big, so when my dad wasn't around, I attached a basket to the garage and played for hours. I replayed the games I had seen with you over and over in my mind and tried to imitate you. Just, wow…," Kise looked at Aomine with admiration. "I would've never thought I'd run into you, ever."

"Yeah, well, life works in mysterious ways." Aomine took a long sip of his tea. Talking about those days brought both happy memories and sad ones. It had been years since he had thought of it, and he had also thought that that was for the best, until that game of basketball with Kise. He had forgotten how much he had missed the sport, and now he itched for the next game.

"It does, huh?... Aominecchi…?" Kise gazed at him, holding his breath for a short moment.

Why did Kise always look at him like that? As if he had just come across the end of the rainbow. It was probably the most infuriating thing about him.

"What?" Aomine asked, suddenly annoyed.

"What I wanted to say was 'Thank you'. I know it's stupid, but you inspired me at a time when I really needed it, and it's a bit overwhelming to think that I'm sitting here with you now, years later, sharing breakfast, and you're still helping me. It's kinda like fate." Kise smiled brightly, and strangely enough, those smiles were the easiest to kill. Aomine seemed to have figured out the art of how swimmingly. A glare was all it took.

"I don't mean fate like we were destined to meet or anything," Kise quickly corrected himself. "I meant more like, um, you know, what you said about mysterious ways. A happy coincidence. Or, wait, no, not happy maybe, but a peculiar coincidence. Do you want more fruit?"

Aomine shook his head and yawned as Kise put the fork away, and tried to find something interesting to look at on the pavement.

"Do you know any good restaurants in the Ginza area? Preferably with a good atmosphere."

"Eh?" In those few brief seconds of silence, when Kise looked back up, Aomine could see a million of scenarios that explained why he was asking that question flash before Kise's eyes.

"I'm taking Tetsu out for a date, and I really want to take him somewhere nice. You know of any place like that?"

"Oh! Yeah, I know of a few. I, uh, just let me get this wrapped up in a doggy bag, and I'll be back in a sec. Let me think… I'll be right back." Kise managed to smile again, and though it was nearly identical to his usual bright smiles, this one didn't reach his eyes.

Aomine felt a split second of guilt, but it faded away as soon as it came. He could only take so much responsibility for Kise, and Kise’s feelings were out of Aomine’s bounds. Kise came back with one of the waitresses who began to take away the leftover food to put it into doggy bags. Kise sat back down with a small sigh, and looked at Aomine.

"Right, good restaurants. What do you wanna eat?"

Aomine shrugged. "It doesn't matter, as long as it's good."

"Yeah, but do you have any preferences like do you want to eat a steak? Do you prefer pig over cow? Or are you more adventurous? Can you see yourself eating snake or a dog?"

"Kise, what the fuck?" Aomine quickly interrupted, horrified by what he was hearing and the implications of what Kise was saying. "What do you mean 'dog'? Are you telling me restaurants serve dog here? Are you saying that _you've_ had dog for dinner?"

Kise was turning red, biting at his cheek as Aomine got increasingly more upset by the chain of scenarios running through his head until Kise finally burst out laughing.

"It was a joke, you dork."

"I don't think it was the least bit funny," Aomine said, crossing his arms and frowned to keep himself from smiling at Kise's silent laughter as he hid behind his hands.

"Alright," Kise said finally. "Dogs are out of the question then. What do you like to eat, Aominecchi?"

"Normal food."

"Beef Wellington?"

"I don't know what that is."

"It's good food. It's tenderloin coated in French mustard topped with mashed mushrooms, held together with prosciutto, and wrapped in puff pastry. You'd love it."

"Just give me a name of someplace romantic. With flowers, someplace quiet with a nice atmosphere, like, I don't know, flowers. That's romantic, right? It's gotta feel private."

"There's a French place, it's not in Ginza though, it's closer to Shinjuku. I don't know what it's called, we just used to call it The Terrace. It's really romantic. It's on the top floor of a thirty-something story building. The view is spectacular. There are booths, if you'd prefer that, but you have to call and reserve them in advance. They're pretty popular. Just a fair warning, stay away from the snails. They're appetizers."

"You were doing so well," Aomine sighed when Kise started to laugh again at his disgusted expression. "Why are you trying to gross me out?"

"I'm not!" Kise laughed, not even attempting to stop, and by some odd, twisted reason, Aomine didn't want him to stop either.


	8. Under My Skin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader:[ Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)

* * *

The Terrace, also known as Terrasse Lafayette, was indeed a restaurant on the top floor of a 30-story building. On a clear evening, such as this one, a large portion of Tokyo lay bare for everyone to see, even Mount Fuji was visible from the large windows by the bar.

A waiter walked up to them where they, Aomine and Kuroko, sat, nursing their drinks as they soaked in the spectacular view. The waiter introduced himself as Jean-Luc, their waiter for the evening, and led them to a cozy, high-baked booth with warm, mahogany colors that came alive with the beautiful carvings on the table's legs, and a creamy white running table cloth with prints of roses accentuating the dark wood. Aomine sat across from Kuroko, uncertain where to look when everything called for his attention. No detail seemed too small. The tea-light holders were small Cupids, leaning against each other, seemingly holding the lights in their arrow pouches.

Jean-Luc came to their table once more with a menu for both and was gone soon again as if a breeze had blown him away.

"You've really outdone yourself, Aomine-kun," Kuroko said with a small smile as he looked around, he too, astounded by the gorgeous details that contributed to a fluttering sensation all over. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you've planned to pop the question."

Aomine looked down on his menu as nonchalantly as he could in hopes that the dim light was enough to mask the blush he felt creeping onto his cheeks.

"A friend recommended this place," Aomine answered instead. "I forgot how over the top he could be."

"You've made a new friend?"

"He's not so much a friend as he's a pain in the ass." Aomine was certain that he would soon match the red wallpaper. 'Romantic' was only the first name of this restaurant, and Aomine was feeling a bit out of his element. Having Kise as the main topic only unsettled him more. His only plan was to keep looking at the menu, hoping that he'd at least find something to eat that wasn't snails.

"That sounds like a friend."

"Yeah, do you know what to order?"

"I was thinking of ordering the chef's recommendation. I'm not familiar with any of these dishes."

"What's he recommending?"

"Um," Kuroko scanned the menu to find it again. "Meen Molee."

"A mean Molly?" Aomine chuckled.

"No," Kuroko smiled. "Meen Molee. Here." He leaned over and pointed it out on Aomine's menu. It's fish in curry. Sounds good, doesn't it? You?"

"I think I'll have…" Aomine looked through the menu again, but this time he actually read what was on it, and one particular dish stood out to him and almost made his mouth water. "I'll have a Wellington."

"Do you even know what that is, Aomine-kun? What if you don't like it?"

"It's tenderloin in puff pastry, what's not to like?" Aomine said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jean-Luc came by to take their order, and then again, but with a tray and orders that were neither Aomine’s nor Kuroko's.

"We haven't ordered these…," Aomine began, his voice fading out when he looked down at the small metallic plate with six holes, forming a star, and filled with what could only be one thing; snails. Jean-Luc quietly presented each tool he laid out on the table when he saw the surprised expressions of his customers.

"Aomine-kun." Kuroko looked at him worriedly.

"This is a message left for you," Jean-Luc said, and handed Aomine a small card with a beautiful watermark and a written message. "There is also a bottle of wine reserved for you. It is an exquisite choice for red meat. I would, however, recommend a white wine from the wine list for the fish."

"Uh…," Aomine began, dumbfounded as his attention was torn between the card in his hand, Kuroko and Jean-Luc. "Tetsu, you want white wine for the fish?"

"Sure, but only a cup."

"Certainly. I'll bring you the wine list immediately."

As soon as Jean-Luc walked away, Kuroko turned to Aomine with a curious look in his big blue eyes. "What's that?"

"One sec," Aomine said, and read through the message again, trying to hold back a loud laugh.

_Dear Aominecchi,_

_A bucket of coins says that you won't dare eat the Escargots. (It's voluntary for your company). Use the tong to pick it up and hold it in place. Use the creepy looking fork to pull out the meat. It smells like death, but it's a delicacy._

_Enjoy the Wellington. And save some for me. Pretty please! (Order the chocolate sufflé (with extra ice cream) for dessert, you'll thank me)._

_xoxo_

_Draw a doodle of me blowing kisses._

"Here," Aomine said, and gave the card to Kuroko with an amused smile. "This is from the friend I was talking about, just to give you an idea of what I have to deal with."

"Good, instructions," Kuroko said relieved. "Where do you know him from? Have I met him?" Kuroko asked once he had read the message and returned the card back to Aomine.

"I don't think so, he's new. Imayoshi hired him for cleaning around the place before opening, but he's a host now. A disaster of a host, but Imayoshi needs the extra cash and so does the new guy. Um... Ki… Yoshio, that's his name. Didn't you have a new guy at the coffee shop?"

"Ah, yes. The elephant in the porcelain shop. He's been dropping plates and cups all week. I would like to say that I don't know why our boss is keeping him, but that'd be a lie."

"Easy on the eyes?" Aomine asked, as he used the tong to pick up one snail. He picked up his fork and took a deep breath as he dug out the green looking meat out of its shell.

"Very."

"Very, huh?" Aomine reached for his glass and swallowed the snail whole with a quick shudder. "Should I be worried?"

Kuroko put his hand over Aomine's gently to get his attention, catching him right before he went for the tong. Kuroko chuckled.

"No, you shouldn't."

"Good." Aomine dug the second snail out of its shell and shuddered again. "Four more to go. Aren't you having yours?"

"Mine were optional," Kuroko reminded him.

Jean-Luc came to the table as soon as Aomine was finished. It was as if he had been standing in the shadows, watching Aomine eat through the whole of six snails on his special plate. He served them wine and water and came soon back with their entrees.

"Bone appetite," he said and went on his way again.

The soft piano music in the background lifted the mood even more, and as Aomine looked at Kuroko, he wondered if this was a place where people came to fall in love all over again. Kuroko had sneaked out of his new shoes and played footsie under the table with a pokerface. Aomine couldn't recall the last time they had both been relaxed enough to flirt.

When dessert came Aomine found himself voluntarily feeding Kuroko, leaning over the table to come as close as he could to watch the spoon pass Kuroko's lips and slowly slip out and leave a small smudge of chocolate on his upper lip. Aomine leaned in closer still and licked the chocolate off with a soft kiss. He closed his eyes as he savored the chocolate and felt a smile against his lips.

_Aominecchi…_

Aomine's eyes flew open and he sat back suddenly, putting the back of his hand against his mouth with a small shake of his head.

"What happened?" Kuroko asked with a small frown on his face.

"Nothing, Tetsu. Sorry, I thought I had put my hand in the dessert."

Aomine quickly got a hold of himself, certain that what he had just hallucinated was nothing more than a one-time side effect from drinking wine. Once he lay in bed with Kuroko, their sweaty bodies tangled, he'd make sure to burn Kuroko into his brain so as to never have his brain slip like it had in the restaurant ever again.

-x-

Early Friday mornings at Tōō were about as unusual for Aomine as days off, and yet here he was, in one of the two changing rooms, pulling an over-sized tank top over his head right after tossing his soaked T-shirt into the laundry basket. He had a small towel around his neck to wipe water off his face, but the remaining cold droplets felt nice against his warm skin.

"Aominecchi, let's play already." Kise was sitting on the floor, dressed in one of Aomine's white T-shirts and grey sweatpants that looked even bigger on him than they did on Aomine. Kise had bought clothes for himself, but very few, and he had yet to invest in clothes he could play basketball in.

"Alright, what are we looking at?" Aomine flopped down across from Kise, giving the one piece of game board Kise had put between them a quick glance. The thought of humoring Kise wouldn't have crossed his mind any other day, but he was well-fed, his date with Kuroko last week had been beyond his expectations, and he had just come from an intense set of one-on-ones, he was more than ready for Kise's antics.

"There isn't a set game board. We build it as we play. I'm this yellow guy." Kise picked up a miniature yellow man holding a shotgun and then he picked up a blue one, putting both in the middle of the small piece of game board. "And you are the blue one. We have three strategy cards each, it can either be weapons or ways to screw each other over."

"What's with those other green guys?" Aomine pointed at the small bag of miniature zombies.

"Those are zombies. We put one on every square that's marked white, and in buildings. We have two dices. One for walking and the other one for fighting zombies. Roll a four and over, you win the fight. Three or less, you lose. Here's health and bullets."

Aomine watched Kise put three piles of cards out on the floor as he explained the rest of the overly convoluted board game. _Wasn't Ludo good enough anymore?_

"Where'd you even get this?"

"At the yard sale shop. It was a bargain. First one to reach the helipad wins. Ready?"

"Yeah, sure."

To think that this was the same guy that had bought him for sex. Well, all things considered, it made sense; Kise was a dork. Not even his good looks could hide that. Who else would go out of his way to buy a board game? Who even played board games anymore?

Aomine spent the first twenty minutes mentally complaining about the game, and sometimes he let some of it out too. It wasn't thrilling, and Aomine couldn't bring himself to care. Winning or losing didn't matter until Kise used a strategy card to send Aomine back to the starting point with one health bar and no bullets, two squares away from reaping all the goods at the hospital, and eight squares away from the helipad. Aomine gaped, vowing for revenge under his breath. From that point on, Aomine made sure to surround Kise with zombies to stop him from proceeding.

"Aominecchi," Kise laughed when Aomine moved six zombies one square closer to Kise. "You do know that I can win by beating twenty-five zombies, right?"

"What?! How?" Aomine looked up from the game board, eyes wide with disbelief, one small zombie in his hands.

"I make my own zombie army and rule the city."

"That's fucking cheating! I'll beat all of your twenty-five zombies, then what?"

"You can't beat my army. Once I have it, you lose. You have to forfeit and accept me as ruler," Kise explained with a light shrug that only seemed to upset Aomine even more.

"Well, I refuse! I'll start a rebellion and lay siege on the helipad! Give me the zombie bag."

"No, Aominecchi!" Kise grabbed the bag just as Aomine got his hands on it, and he laughed as he tugged at it to keep Aomine from taking all the zombies. "That's not how the game works. Aominecchi! You'll be cheating. Let go of the bag!"

"I'll show your army. This is war, Kise." Aomine walked in closer on his knees as he pulled on the bag that Kise hung onto stubbornly while he laughed. They wrestled for it. The game board came apart and the small zombies on the floor flew all over as they tumbled around. Aomine didn't stop until he found himself looking down on Kise, his cheeks still flushed from their one-on-one earlier. His laughter slowly died out into soft chuckles. His hold on the bag loosened as he was caught in Aomine's gaze.

Aomine felt his heart skip a beat, and he thought that would be enough for him to sit back and shake it off, but there was something in him that wanted to catch a small glimpse of Kise lying underneath him with such an alluring smile on his lips. It made him think of Kuroko, and while the reminder was mostly a nice one, he didn't want to relate Kise to Kuroko on any level.

Imayoshi chose that exact moment to walk into the room, pushing the door wide open. Aomine quickly moved aside, but it was clear by the look on Imayoshi's face that he had seen what Aomine hadn't wanted him to see, and Imayoshi's imagination was running wild.

"Blondie, you've got delivery from the Screwdriver guy. You might wanna hurry. There's flowers, chocolate, and an acapella group of three in striped suits waiting for you at the bar."

"What?" Kise gaped, and got up onto his feet quickly.

"I was told it was a birthday telegram."

Kise was out the door in less than two giant steps, and he ran down the corridor to get to his unexpected gifts. Aomine got up onto his feet slowly, dusting himself off and gave the game pieces a quick sweeping look to not have to face Imayoshi's questioning gaze, and to keep himself from asking about Kise's apparent birthday.

"Who the hell's Screwdriver guy?" Aomine asked after two seconds of silence.

"Kasamatsu, one of Kise's regulars. Look, I know that whatever I walked in on isn't my business, but Aomine, you have to stop."

"We weren't doing anything. We were wrestling for the bag of zombies."

Imayoshi lifted his glasses off his nose slightly to rub his eyes. "I mean in general. You have a knack for screwing yourself over, and I think that's what you're doing right now. Are things going too well with Kuroko?"

"Great, actually," Aomine said, trying to come off sarcastically, but he just sounded pitiful. Things were, in fact, going great with Kuroko. They seemed to have reached a place where they could be happy together without having the surrounding drama threatening to tear them apart. Aomine felt light around him, and it was such an unsettling feeling when he knew how easily it could all come undone. Kise was a liability, Aomine knew that much, too.

"I understand how Kise can seem like rainbows and cotton candy, but the fact of the matter is that he's probably as manipulative and strong willed as his old man, and he's got his eyes set on you. I know it for a fact." Imayoshi sighed. "You've got less than half of your debt left to pay, Aomine. You're almost out. Don't get dragged back in. Don't hurt Kuroko again."

Aomine gave a quick, decisive nod. Imayoshi's words were what he had needed to make a decision that had been lurking in the back of his head all along. It explained that ever present feeling of anger he always got around Kise. Aomine had always suspected that Kise paraded with a false exterior to lure people into liking him, and to hide a vicious, greedy side that so often came with being born rich and privileged, but Aomine had given him the benefit of doubt, at least until now.

A zombie fell out of his hair and he watched it bounce once on the floor. He had been hanging out with Kise. He had forgotten one of his own golden rules when it came to clients, former and present: never fraternize. When he walked past the bar, he saw Kise by the counter, looking at the inside of the lid of his chocolate box while he took one and put it in his mouth.

"I'm leaving," Aomine said with the intention of walking out and hoped that Kuroko ended his shift early today.

"What? Why?" Kise stood up straight to look at Aomine and he pouted. He didn't give Aomine a chance to answer. He took the chocolate box, and reached it forward as he swallowed the rest of chocolate in his mouth. "Do you want one, Aominecchi? They're really good. That one almost tastes like a Xante D'or. I can't believe Kasamatsu would remember. I don't even think I've said anything about it to him. Have one."

Kise caught the cold look in Aomine's eyes. He put the chocolate box back onto the counter, using those extra seconds to figure out how to act next.

"We don't have to play that game anymore," Kise said, and smiled. "Let's play more basketball instead! I feel rested. How about it, Aominecchi?"

"No, I've gotta go." Aomine walked past Kise. A heavy sensation settled right in the middle of his chest, a sense of betrayal at seeing and hearing Kise. A part of him had, for a short moment, considered Kise a friend, but Kise was just a spoiled brat who had fixated himself on the idea of getting someone he couldn't have. Aomine had been able to ignore it as long as his suspicions were in his head, but hearing it from Imayoshi had made the problems with it far too real to risk it.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Aomine didn't turn around to see Kise's face, knowing that he would stay to have this discussion with Kise if he did turn around, and he was certain that he would say every hurtful thing that crossed his mind.

"No, not everything's about you, y'know," Aomine said instead, almost at the front door.

"Well, before you leave, could I get your number?" Kise asked, and Aomine could mentally see him tilt his head coyly, using that innocent tone of voice to get his way. "As a birthday gift?"

"No."

"Why not?" There was a small smile in Kise's voice. He still didn't get it.

"Because then you'll call. I'm sick of having to put up with you as it is." It was the last thing Aomine said before he walked out. He had decided that whether Kise's intentions were good or not, he was a liability. Aomine wasn't going to risk his happiness with Kuroko by indulging his impulsive whims and penchant for surrounding himself with people that could bring him nothing but destruction.

In making his decision, he took no thought about what it meant to abandon Kise in an unknown world; he 'forgot' that Kise was naive, and up until this moment, had relied on him to nudge him in the right direction. Loneliness and lack of guidance was a lethal combination, and in hindsight, Aomine would have dealt differently with the situation, had he known the extent of Kise's solitude.


	9. Grasping Straws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader:[ Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)

* * *

 Eight months earlier...

* * *

 

Money had never been a concern for Kise. He reached into a boundless money bag that was always abundant with cash. Somewhere deep down, he knew that the money he took wasn't his, that was why he lied and schemed to hide the amount of money that he actually took. His parents didn't seem suspicious at all, at least for now, but election and campaigning season would soon be upon them. His mother encouraged him when it seemed that the money went into courting possible wives to be. Kise was, after all, the one that would pass their last name down to future generations, and it seemed like grandchildren couldn't come soon enough. At twenty-three, Kise felt that it was way too early to think about having kids. It was the furthest thing from his mind, and those times when he was reminded of it, he could only see himself form a family with Aomine, a scenario that was more far-fetched than anything else that passed his whimsical mind.

Kise paced in the extravagant hotel room on the eighth floor at the Four Seasons and finally flopped down onto the bed with a shaky sigh. He hadn't done anything to the room but dim the lights. The thought of buying a bouquet of flowers had crossed his mind. Aomine wasn't the kind to appreciate such gestures, however; Kise knew that much.

This was their fifth time in three months. Kise had to plan these encounters carefully to hide the expenses from his father, and the wait was excruciating. Kise would go to Tōō in hopes he'd get to spend time with Aomine in between the long wait, but on certain nights, after two hours queuing, he'd change his mind. Aomine, the host, wasn't the real deal, and as much as he liked Aomine's persona, he preferred the real Aomine - and to him that was the person he got at night, when they were by themselves. Aomine was usually cold towards him, but Kise had convinced himself that he could change that. He was going to melt that cold exterior and once he did, Aomine would love him as much as he loved Aomine.

Kise wasn't always as strong-willed. Some nights he would get in line, and he'd find his way into small groups to not have to face Aomine alone. Aomine wasn't as cold towards him when they were in company, and Kise could just enjoy being near him and pretend that they were at least out as friends.

Kise tried not to think about how pathetic the situation was; the only person he wanted to spend time with, wanted as little to do with him as possible, if not for their financial agreement. Kise could have anyone; he had money, looks, and when he set his mind to it, even charm, but he couldn't get Aomine out of his head, and he wasn't even sure he'd ever want him out.

The door beeped as it unlocked, and Kise quickly rose to his feet, giving himself a quick glance in a mirror before he got in sight. Aomine dropped his bag by his feet as soon as he saw Kise and sighed, but did not seem surprised at all.

"Hi! I'm Ryouta Kise. I don't know if you remember me, but we've met befo‒"

"Are you seriously gonna do that every time?" Aomine interrupted. Barely ten seconds in, and he was annoyed already. He got a pack of condoms and lube out of the bag and walked into the room, tossing the items in his hand onto the bed as he reached for the back of his black T-shirt.

"Wait!" Kise gripped his T-shirt from behind to keep it in place. Aomine turned around to give Kise another annoyed look. "I want to undress you, and... get you, excited…" All that preparation in front of the mirror hadn't been for nothing. He had almost managed to say it without stuttering.

"You've got three hours 'til midnight," Aomine said, unimpressed.

"Let me try."

Kise walked in close, running his hands around Aomine's waist. Hesitantly at first, but he gained confidence as soon as he slipped his hands underneath Aomine's shirt. Aomine's skin was warm and soft, and if they hadn't been short on time, Kise would've taken the entire night to just touch and lick Aomine all over before doing anything else. He helped Aomine out of his T-shirt. Kise's hands quickly found his belt, and as he kissed Aomine's neck, he undid it, shivering at the sound. Aomine's pants only needed to be tugged down his hips slightly to fall down to his ankles. Kise had been so preoccupied with undressing and touching Aomine that he didn't even notice Aomine undoing the knot on the belt holding his bathrobe together.

Kise looked down at Aomine's bulge as he wrapped his hand around it, gently gripping as much as he could, slowly clenching his hand around it and marveling at the warmth of it. This was the first time he touched Aomine like this. He had always wanted to, but Aomine was quick to take control, leaving Kise a whimpering mess, unable to return the many favors.

"Daiki, I want to suck you off," Kise said in a needy whisper against the shell of Aomine's ear.

Aomine stepped away from him, got out of his boxers, and sat down on the side of the bed, his legs spread.

"Get to work," he said easily and watched Kise fall to his knees, resting his hands on his hips briefly before running them down to his inner thighs as he leaned in closer.

Kise wet his lips with the tip of his tongue. Aomine was nowhere near hard yet. His cock hung over his balls, dark, short, curly hair surrounding them and making the pink head of his cock all the more inviting. Kise suckled at it softly at first, taking Aomine's taste in slowly. He fit the soft shaft into his mouth and felt the head tickle the roof of his mouth as he pushed his tongue against it. With one hand, he rubbed Aomine's balls slowly, and the cock started to twitch in his mouth.

"You'll have to do better than that," Aomine said, his voice suddenly huskier than usual.

Kise looked up at him, the cock growing harder as he sucked and kissed at it. It was getting too big to fit all of it in his mouth, and what Kise couldn't cover with his mouth, he touched with his hand. He kept looking up at Aomine, watching him grow more excited by the second; his lips parted, and his breathing got heavier. Kise sat back, every inch of Aomine's cock passing his lips and leaving his mouth with a small wet pop. A trail of saliva connected the head and Kise's lower lip. Kise gripped it with his hands and rubbed up and down the slippery surface.

Aomine let out a low groan as pre-cum started to trickle down the head of his cock in small transparent beads that Kise quickly sucked off.

Kise had been practicing by watching porn that didn't seem too over the top. Some nights he'd suck off his fingers, pretending that it was Aomine until the fantasy became so vivid in his head that he ended up touching himself. He wasn't sure what would work on Aomine. He kept looking at him to see what would make him clench his jaw to not let any sounds out, and then he'd keep doing that until Aomine, inevitably, moaned.

"I'm close," he said under his breath when Kise took him into his mouth again, still moving his hand up and down his cock. Kise bobbed his head faster. Aomine was moving his hips, thrusting his cock further into Kise's mouth, and when his seed splashed against the back of his throat, Kise was prepared. He swallowed as it came, moaning at the sensation of it all. By the time he released Aomine, he had gone soft. Kise gave it a quick kiss before Aomine led him onto his lap. Kise could tell that Aomine felt heavy after his orgasm, and Kise took advantage of his position to place kisses on his face; across his cheeks, on the tip of his nose and at the sides of his mouth.

"You taste good," Kise whispered against his ear and nibbled at his earlobe, licking the back of it as he ran his arms around Aomine's neck and rubbed the back of his head with the tip of his fingers. "So good."

Aomine caressed Kise's lower back absentmindedly and moved his hand further down, gripping Kise's buttocks. He kissed Kise's neck, losing himself momentarily with Kise holding him gently. Aomine caught himself soon enough. He laid Kise down on the bed without saying anything, his body still heavy and his breathing still uneven. Kise's robe fell to his sides, revealing his naked body underneath. No sooner had Kise's head touched the bed when Aomine wrapped his lips around Kise's left nipple, sucking hard before licking it and teasing it with a soft exhale.

"Daiki…"

Kise soon lost himself in the ecstasy of the pleasure that Aomine brought him. Fire coursed through his veins, setting every nerve in his body alight when that sweet pressure built in the pit of his stomach, bringing him closer to an orgasm that tore down all of the walls he had to build to get through the day. He was reduced to the needy mess that he really was, and he wasn't afraid to cling to Aomine's shoulders with trembling arms as Aomine fucked him into oblivion, forcing a string of moans and whimpers out of him that entwined with a mantra of Aomine's name.

There was only one thing on Kise's mind by the time the white light faded from his sight: I love you, Daiki. It almost drowned out his loud heartbeats. He wished he could find the courage to say it. The words ghosted on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them instead. Aomine was already putting his pants on, scanning the room from the side of the bed to see where his shirt had gone.

"Where are you going?" Kise asked, his voice hoarse.

"Away. Your time's up."

Kise looked at the small clock standing on a dresser across from the bed. Eleven thirty.

"There's still a half hour left."

"And what do you wanna do in a half hour? You're clearly out and I'm not a fucking machine."

"We can talk," Kise suggested. He ran his arms around himself and rubbed his right shoulder nervously.

Aomine scoffed. "I don't talk during house calls. If you wanna talk, you go to the club."

"... I can pay." Kise regretted it as soon as he said it. He didn't want every aspect of their relationship to be dependent on how much he was willing to pay for it, but he was desperate, and this was the only way he could think of that would make Aomine stay for a little longer.

"Two hundred grand, cash, and I leave at midnight."

Kise sat up in bed slowly. Adding that sum of money to what he had already spent tonight would be a whole lot to explain if his father ever noticed, but if he had learned anything at business school, it was how to fix the books. Getting to talk to Aomine in private seemed more than worth it. Once the deal was settled, Aomine sat down at the side of the bed again, fully clothed.

"What's your favorite color?" was the first question Kise could come up with.

Aomine turned his head slightly to look at him in disbelief. "Honestly, don't you have anything better to do with your money?"

"Green?" Kise tilted his head slightly.

"Blue."

"Cats or dogs?"

"Dogs," Aomine sighed.

"Favorite music?"

"This isn't a conversation. It's an interrogation."

"Well, I have to know stuff about you to know what to talk about. Is there anything you want to know about me?"

"No."

"Nothing at all?" Kise pouted. Aomine didn't bother to answer the question again and they fell into silence for a few seconds before Kise suddenly asked a question he wasn't prepared for himself. "Do you ever think of me?"

In that split second of silence that followed, Kise regretted asking that too.

"It happens."

Kise's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened, and he grinned. He didn't know in which context he came to Aomine's mind, but it didn't matter. He existed to Aomine outside of their meetings. He had earned a place there, and to know that someone he had come to treasure, as much as he treasured Aomine, thought of him was enough to make his heart flutter.

"Daiki…"

"Don't make a big deal out of it."

But it was too late. Kise threw his arms around Aomine's neck and hugged him tight.

"I like you, Daiki. I like you a lot."

It never occurred to Kise that it could just be something Aomine said to keep him hooked. He constantly forgot about the part where he paid Aomine to be with him and that their relationship was as real as the money he thought he had.

-x-

It was past noon on a Monday, three weeks after a big exam, and the corridor by the main entrance to the Economics Department was crowded with students trying to find their names on the lists that had been put on the walls with their scores and grades right by it.

"Oh, no, my mom's gonna kill me," Kise heard someone in the crowd say to their friends. He squeezed past a couple of his classmates to look at the list, albeit reluctantly. This was the second worst part of still being in school.

"Hey, Kise!" Moriyama stood right next to him and gave him a nudge.

"Hi, did you find your name?"

"Yup, I'm number forty-three. I got a C. You? Did you pass?"

"I don't know." Kise started to look from the last list out of three, used to seeing his name in the bottom fifty.

"Woah! Over there!" Moriyama nudged Kise again and pointed to the first list.

Kise scanned the list, his jaw dropping slightly when he saw his name on the twentieth spot with the grade B written next to it.

"Did you actually study?

"Yeah." Kise blinked stupidly and walked away from the crowd to an empty hallway, pulling the strap of his bag higher up his shoulder. He had studied without the expectation of much coming from his hard work. It was just a way to kill time and resist the urge to spend money to see Aomine again. Kise smiled triumphantly. This was definitely going to put him on his father's good side, and with his internship at his father's office coming up, this couldn't have come at a better time.

"Kise, what are you running away for?" Moriyama ran after him and caught up with him. "You haven't been hanging out with me and the guys as much anymore. We should celebrate your victory. What do you say? A night out at the Golden Room? Champagne in one hand and a girl hanging by the other? Huh?"

"And you want me to pay for it?" Kise asked with a small smile.

"Not all of it, but y'know, it's the Golden Room. Only you can get us in, and, uh, I was sorta hoping you could introduce me to some girls? How about Akiko? You got feelings for her or something? You just say the word and I'll back off if that's the case, but I need someone, like urgently. What about Kanae? You can't have them all, Kise. Sharing is caring. C'mon now." Moriyama got more and more desperate when Kise simply looked at him, amused.

"Let me check my schedule first. I'll get back to you."

"Alright!" Moriyama fist-pumped in the air and gave Kise a quick shove. "Hey, did you get Haizaki the internship? He's been trying to get a hold of you."

"Internship?"

"Yeah, man, the internship." Moriyama grabbed Kise by the arm and stopped in the middle of the empty hallway, looking at Kise with a serious expression that surpassed his default one. "It's a big deal to him, Kise. He asked you about it like a century ago. You said you'd talk to your dad. He really needs this favor."

"Oh, right, yeah." Kise had completely forgotten about it. "My dad was gonna look into it. There are a lot of people applying, and my dad only wants the best ones."

"You're in, aren't you?" Moriyama frowned. "Haizaki has been busting his ass to get grades good enough to be appealing to companies, but you know how those suits are against people with criminal records. They have no consideration for circumstances or how petty the crimes were. He's had your back, Kise. You gotta get him in. You're his golden ticket. He's counting on you, man."

"I didn't make any promises, alright? I'll see what I can do." Kise pulled his arm away from Moriyama with the intention of walking away.

"You could give him your spot if he doesn't get one." Moriyama said, sternly.

"Sorry? My spot?"

"Yeah. Why not? You suck at this anyway. You don't take it seriously, and you've got your future covered anyway. The rest of us have to work like dogs to get anywhere. Haizaki has been doing everything he can to get audience with HR at headquarters with no results. You're only getting that internship because your dad is the boss. That's your only qualification, and frankly, it's unfair."

"Screw you," Kise snarled. "I don't give a shit about what you think is fair or not. I don't owe you or Haizaki anything. I'll look into it, and that is all I can do, got it?"

Kise stormed off, leaving Moriyama staring after him, surprised by the sudden outburst and angered for being talked to in such a manner. Kise couldn't care less. There had to be some perks to being related to Isami Kise and having to put up with his abuse on a daily basis. They didn't know. It was easy for them to look up to his father and say that he was the kind of man they wanted to become. All they saw was the money, fame and influence he had, and their greed turned them into vultures with no consideration for the friend that was constantly in his father's line of fire.

-x-

The suggestion of celebrating at the Golden Room had completely escaped Kise's mind, especially once his parents were told about his achievement. Moriyama hadn't said anything about the internship for Haizaki since that day. Kise would have tossed Haizaki's CV in the bin if Moriyama had nagged him anymore. Just the thought of what Moriyama had had the nerve to say to him made Kise angry all over again. Fortunately, he had found a way to get his mind off it. Two words; Peach John.

Kise looked to the side of the golden interior of the elevator at Four Seasons to hide a mischievous smile from the elderly couple standing there with him. He had just been in the suite he had reserved for the night, and it was just like he had asked it to be; a king-sized bed, mirrors on the ceiling, sheets and covers in Egyptian cotton, champagne, and that wasn't even the reason why he felt like giggling.

Peach John, a high-end lingerie brand. Kise passed by the shop every time he went for archery practice. To soothe this anger after that day with Moriyama, he had gone inside. A salesman was with him quickly to help him choose lingerie for his "girlfriend", and Kise played along, amazed by the variety of lingerie to choose from. He walked out of the shop with two bags of neatly folded lingerie in silk and lace, and a mind full of kinky thoughts.

Kise wasn't sure what Aomine would say about it, hopefully he wouldn't say anything at all, just stare, overtaken by lust as he walked into the room to find Kise on the bed dressed in hiphugger panties, laced waist cincher, garters and maybe even a modal flyaway. All of it in different shades of blue.

Kise walked up to the reception and the woman behind it smiled as he approached the counter.

"Was everything to your satisfaction, Mr. Kise?"

"Yes, it was."

"Excellent. There is someone waiting for you at the bar."

"Really? Did he give you a name?"

"No, Mr. Kise. He's at the bar, right down that hallway to the left."

"Thanks."

Kise walked through the lobby, glancing at the clock down the hallway. His appointment with Aomine was at nine, long before Aomine's shift ended at the club. It made their appointment that much more expensive, but Kise got more time to spend with him before midnight.

There weren't many people at the hotel tonight. Most of the hotel's customers were here for the Tokyo's Cultural Week events hosted by Tokyo's elite. Art exhibitions, ballet, opera, everything considered fine culture was taking place in the central of Tokyo, keeping Kise's parents busy with ambassadors from around the world and the hotel bar empty enough to make it easy to find this mystery person looking for him.

"Kise!"

Haizaki sat in a corner and raised his arm quickly to catch Kise's attention. He sat deep into the armchair, drumming his fingers impatiently against his knees. There were three large and empty glasses on the table next to him and a waiter came with a fourth glass of beer for Haizaki to empty.

"Hey," Kise said as he walked up to him, his heart dropping to his stomach. "How'd you know I was here?"

"You know what this is?" Haizaki pulled out an envelope from his pocket. He had folded it once and clearly torn it open once he had gotten it. "Sit down."

Kise sat down reluctantly. Haizaki was looking straight through him as he reached Kise the envelope.

"Haizaki, are you alright?"

"Read the goddamn letter, Kise." Haizaki glared at him dangerously, clenching his fists.

Kise only needed to see his father's company logo to know what this was about. He gulped. The problem had seemed so distant, as if it would never be able to catch up with him. It was sitting in front of him now. Kise had seen Haizaki angry before, he just hadn't been on the receiving end. Kise was the provider in the gang, the supplier of unlimited access to the club of the highly privileged. No one got angry with him.

"I thought you were gonna fix it," Haizaki said sternly. "I'm your friend, aren't I? You're supposed to have my back."

"It, it got complicated, Haizaki. I talked to my dad, I did. But, there were a lot of applicants, and you know that my dad is campaigning, so he must've let HR make the decision. It was out of my hands."

"Was it HR that gave you your internship? Fuck it, that doesn't matter. Of course you were getting a spot. Your dad is desperately trying to save face by trying to pass you off as a reliable businessman. You're a laughing stock, you know that? No, right? How would you know? You never go to the network meetings, you arrogant shit. You don't know any of your future workmates. You think that you'll turn into boss material overnight, but I've got news for you..." Haizaki got out of his seat and walked over to Kise, gripping him by the front of his shirt. He gritted his teeth, his eyes wide with fury.

"Calm down, Haizaki. You'll get in trouble.

Haizaki laughed. "I'll get in trouble? You really think you're untouchable. Well, I'll tell you why I'm here, Kise. I'll tell you how I know that you'd be here. See, unlike you, I've been a friend. Even when I found out about your disgusting pastime, I was quiet, but I'm not sure if that's something I'll be able to do from now on."

"What are you talking about?" Kise gulped. He tried to calmly push Haizaki’s hands away, but it seemed as if he had no strength left in his arms.

"You want me to say it? I know you're getting fucked by some manwhore. That's why you're here. Spending your dad's money like you have a right. When was the last time you earned some yourself, huh? You think your dad would be pleased if he knew that his hard-earned money goes to getting you laid? With a man, no less?"

"Shut up." Anger overpowered Kise’s fear and he shoved Haizaki away, forcefully enough to have Haizaki fall back into his seat. "You don't know what you're talking about, so shut up! What do you think you'll gain from this? I can't change the decision. It's already been made. But I'm all you've got. If you want in, if you want to become somebody, I'm your only shot. No one else would give a criminal low-life like you a chance."

Haizaki gave Kise no warning. His fist slammed down on Kise's face so hard that his head flung to the side with sheer force. Kise coughed at the sudden gush of blood running down his nose, he kept his head down for a moment to direct the blood away from his throat while he caught his breath. A few seconds was all he got. Haizaki pushed him back onto the armchair, grabbing him by the throat and struggled to not punch Kise in the face again.

"I'll love to hear you say that again, Kise. Would you like to repeat that? I don't have a problem with bashing your face in. It'll be one more thing to add to the list. Just give me another reason. Shove me over the edge."

Kise stared back at Haizaki, met his stare with defiance. He clenched his fist and chose the right moment to punch the side of Haizaki's face hard enough to have Haizaki let go of him and stumble back slightly. Kise hurried out of his seat and walked quickly toward the exit.

"We're not through yet, Kise!" Haizaki yelled after him. "I'm gonna ruin you; just you wait. You'll see what a worthless piece of shit you are without your daddy's money. Yeah, you better run, bitch!"

Kise hurried down the hallway and into nearest elevator. He heard small gasps from the few guests in the lobby when they say the blood on his face and on his sleeves. Kise got to the bathroom of his suite, quickly getting out of his clothes. He got into the shower to get the blood off. His hands were trembling.

Haizaki could ruin everything, and it would be Kise's own fault. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he had to stop seeing Aomine. These encounters were the highlights of his life. It made the mundane worthwhile. It made his father's constant abuse bearable.

Kise took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror, wincing at the blooming bruise at the side of his mouth. The tip of his nose was still slightly discolored with the nosebleed. Kise looked through the cabinets to see if there was any complimentary make-up hidden somewhere, and he thought of asking to have some brought up when he noticed the time. Aomine was going to be here in ten minutes.

He dug around in the bags he had brought and quickly got into the lingerie. He stopped by the full-length mirror and looked at himself as he adjusted his garters. With luck, Aomine would fail to notice the bruise on his face and just concentrate on everything else. Kise smiled and followed it up with a small wince. He straightened out crinkles in the tulle flyaway, playing with the ribbon at the front. Should he pull on it once Aomine got here and saw him on the bed, or should he have Aomine undress all of him?

Kise tilted his head slightly. Aomine had never undressed him before. It'd be a nice change of pace. He'd be all worked up and undo the ribbon with his teeth while stroking the uncovered skin of Kise's thighs between the garters and the panties.

Nine o'clock came and went, but Aomine didn't show up. At nine thirty, Kise called to the person in charge of the bookings. He had to call three times before someone picked up on the line.

"Tōō Host Club, this is Imayoshi speaking."

The beat of the loud music in the background was faint, but audible.

"Hello. I had an appointment scheduled today with Aomine at nine, but he hasn't showed up yet."

"He hasn't?" Imayoshi sounded surprised. "I'll check with him to see what happened. I'll call you back in ten minutes. That sound alright?"

"Yeah, okay. Ten minutes."

Kise sat on the king-sized bed, phone in hand to be ready when Imayoshi called back. He got the phone call almost on the minute.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, hi. Imayoshi here. I just talked to Aomine and I'm sorry to say that he has to cancel. You'll get a full refund and a free pass for one night. No queuing. I'm really sorry."

"But," Kise began weakly. "I really need to see him."

"It's not gonna happen tonight, that's all I can say with certainty."

"Do you know when I can see him?"

"Uh," Imayoshi flipped through papers. "Next week on Friday after one o'clock."

"I thought he only worked until midnight?"

"Oh, yeah, right! Right, right. I was looking at someone else's schedule. He is available on Friday though. Let's see. Ten thirty."

"At seven."

"Yeah, that doesn't work with his schedule."

"At seven," Kise repeated. "Radisson Blue Hotel."

"It's gonna cost ya."

"I know it will." Kise sighed and waited for a reply. This would be his last chance to be with Aomine before taking a long break, long enough to lead Haizaki away from his trail.

"Fine. I'll write it in. I'll need a down payment. You know how that works though, right?"

"Yeah. I'll have it over on Monday morning. Good night." Kise flipped his cellphone closed and flopped down onto the bed. His face was still sore, and he was certain that the bruise by the side of his mouth was turning purple. He hadn't been this scared before. Haizaki could end him if he wanted to. Kise didn't know how his father would react if he ever found out that he had been sleeping with a man. It wouldn't be a nice experience, Kise knew that much. What he didn't know was the extent of the repercussions. Would he go as far as to throw Kise out on the street? He could try. Kise could at least count on his sisters and mother to have his back.


	10. Love, Hate and Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader:[ Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)  
>  **Warnings:** Sexual harassment/assault

* * *

Once a year Tōō throws the mother of all parties, and the center of attention is none other than their number one host, Daiki Aomine. Due to popular demand, they had decided to throw a birthday party for Aomine's host persona in the first week of September. The party came in two parts to let as many people as possible participate in the spectacular event that had been a tradition for four years now. Aomine wasn’t very fond of his birthday parties from what Kise had heard. It was a grim reminder of how long he had been here, working for the scum of the Earth. The rest of the staff, however, seemed to be looking forward to it.

It was an early Friday morning, and there was no telling what the weather would be like for those in line; it could either be sunny or surprise everyone with a torrent of rain. Kise shuffled the cards from the latest game he had bought at the yard sale shop, wondering if he should have bought an umbrella too.

A lot of things had changed since the day Aomine decided that he had had enough of Kise. It seemed that everyone's attitude changed about him from that day on as well, and it was particularly noticeable in Imayoshi who hadn't been Kise's biggest fan, but who still had made small efforts to not make Kise feel completely excluded. Kise was no longer informed about upcoming staff meetings unless Imayoshi had something riding on it. He was told not to show up earlier than necessary, and the other hosts were ordered to do their best to ignore Kise without being noticeably mean.

Kise hadn't seen much of Aomine. He seemed to have moved someplace else. Kise never heard him come home anymore. Aomine would soon grow tired of paying rent for a place he didn’t use, and Kise didn’t make enough to pay for it himself. It was only a matter of time before he'd be evicted; at least that was the story Kise used as motivation. If he worked as hard as he could, he'd be able to find a new place as soon enough. It didn't work, though. Finding motivation for anything had become a near impossible task. He vacillated between indifference and longing, and nothing reminded Kise more of what he longed for than those moments when he caught glimpses of Aomine during service. It only made him feel worse. 

When Hanamiya started to show up again, Kise had secretly hoped that it would catch Aomine's attention like it had once, but by the fourth time, Kise stopped hoping and simply braced himself for the occasional two hours of mindless chatter with a man that made his skin crawl.

Kise spread the upside down cards out in front of him, and picked up a card and then another one; it was a mismatch. One card was of the Canis Majoris, the other of Cassiopeia. Kise mumbled the names of both constellations under his breath and put them back down. During some nights, when he couldn't sleep, he'd go up on the roof to find new constellations. He'd draw invisible lines between the stars and he'd write down the names of the constellations he did find on a small piece of paper. He wanted to make starmaps. On a clear night, not too long ago, he had finally found Orion's Belt, and he had hoped that he'd get to show it to Aomine someday. It seemed silly now, and yet here he was, trying to learn the name of more constellations.

"Takao!" Kise called when he saw Takao walk by on the other side of the bar. He gulped slightly when Takao looked back at him. Maybe he too was in on this new trend of ignoring Kise.

"What's up?" Takao asked as soon as he approached Kise and jumped up onto a stool gracefully. He didn't wait for a reply. "What's that?" He pointed at the cards.

"It's Memory. You have to pick up two identical cards to make a pair and whoever has the most pairs wins. Wanna play?"

"Hmm," Takao began hesitantly and looked around quickly. "Yeah, okay. You start."

"Do you have any favorite constellations?" Kise asked as he put back the cards he had flipped over.

"Not really. I like to stargaze though. I went up to a resort by the mountains once, with Shin-chan, and there were no street lights on during the nights, so we'd sit on the porch by our room and look up at the sky, and I swear, it was like staring into the belly of the universe. There were so many stars. Do you have any favorites?"

"Yeah. Orion."

"Ah, the guy with the bow and the belt?"

"That's the one."

"Hmm," Takao said thoughtfully, and pulled a streak of three pairs. "Kise, can I be honest with you?"

"Yeah?"

"Alright, good." Takao took a deep breath. "I'm not saying this to be mean, it's just what I think would work best for you, okay?"

Kise nodded.

"You don't have a debt to work off, and there's nothing and no one keeping you here…" Takao looked Kise in the eye, stressing his words in hopes that he wouldn't have to be any blunter. "Why don't you try your luck elsewhere? Imayoshi can be mean when he sets his mind to it, and well, I've actually talked about this with Shin-chan, and you don't seem to have a chance, y'know?... with Aomine? You're not compatible. And he's got someone..."

"Oh, no! No, no, no. I'm not... with Aomine... no, I mean, I might have been for a little while, but not anymore. Honest. As you said, Aomine has someone already, and with our history... it would be weird. I'm actually looking for an apartment. I just have to get some money, and I am out." Kise laughed, looking at Takao to see if he was buying anything of what he was saying. "I haven't got a plan yet, but I know that I have over-stayed my welcome. I'm working to get wherever I need to be. Is this what it's been about?" Kise asked carefully. "Does Imayoshi think I'll sabotage Aomine's relationship?"

"Well, yeah, sort of. It's been a big part of it. I can't say I like this strategy that Imayoshi has chosen, but you know, he's the boss." Takao smiled apologetically. "He's been friends with Aomine for a while, and well, I guess you know some of the story of how Aomine got here. The boyfriend he's got now is basically the light of his life, and what Imayoshi is worried about is Aomine's tendency toward self-destruction. He wants to keep Aomine from ruining one of his few healthy relationships for someone… like you…" Takao gulped and gave Kise that apologetic look again.

Kise wanted to ask what 'someone like him' meant, but he knew already. Someone like him was someone frivolous, inconsiderate, obnoxious, and spoiled, just to mention a few of the characteristics he could remember from his father's never-ending list.

"Right. Yeah, I understand. Aominecchi's lucky to have friends that care that much about him. Imayoshi's got nothing to worry about, in regards to me at least. None of you should have to worry about that. As soon as I can afford it, I'll move and find work elsewhere. And until then, I'll keep my distance from Aominecchi. I promise."

"You should tell Imayoshi that too, so that he can stop ostracizing you. Oh!" Takao dug into his pocket and gave his vibrating phone a quick look. "It's Shin-chan. I have to take this. Rain check on the game?"

"Yeah, sure."

Takao hurried outside, and Kise heard him greet Midorima cheerfully before his voice turned into a distant muffle. Midorima was Takao's sole and exclusive customer, thanks to a deal he had struck with Imayoshi. He had decided to pay off Takao's debt and free him from the clutches of Hanamiya's gang. That was the bits and pieces Kise had picked up from overhearing some of the conversations between a few hosts. Takao was lucky, too.

Kise turned his attention from his deck of cards to the rest of the club where festive decorations had been put up around the podiums. Most of the staff members were in the midst of decorating the dance floors and cleaning up. Kise looked back down with a small sigh. He gathered his cards and put them back into a small box. All was as it should be, and all was as it was because he hadn't listened. The only right thing to do now was to go into the changing room and mask himself behind a persona that would earn him enough money so that he could leave.

Crying is for the weak, he thought as he swallowed the lump forming in his throat for the umpteenth time today. 

-x-

People flocked to the club. Tickets had been sold out for over a month, and yet, there were uninvited waiting outside in hopes that someone would sell their ticket. Aomine's birthday party was the busiest two nights of the whole year. Imayoshi had been preparing his staff for weeks, repeating over and over again the importance of efficiency and customer care during their staff meetings. This was extra important since their number one host was not taking any customers on his special day. He mingled amongst the entire crowd, so that everyone could get a minute or two with the star of the night. The rest fell on the supporting hosts, who got bigger workloads than what they were used to. More work meant more pay, which was something none of them would refuse, and so they put on their best act to make sure to gain new regulars. Everyone but Takao, that is. He wanted to attend the party he had been hearing so much about, but Midorima insisted on a weekend trip instead, far away from the Tōō Host Club.

Kise rubbed his cheeks quickly in between the small break he got from one customer to another. He had been smiling non-stop and his cheeks were starting to ache a little, not that he was complaining. He had never had so many customers in one night. He kept busy and the customers forced him to be attentive. That gave him no time to dwell on anything else.

"Quite a busy night, huh, Ryouta?" Hanamiya flopped down next to him, only one bodyguard following him. "There was actually some waiting time for you. Your dad's gonna be so proud."

"It's Aomine's birthday so it's bound to be a busy night," Kise answered simply. Hanamiya had been easy to figure out. All he wanted was a reaction from him, preferably a violent one. When words didn't work, he would always go for something physical. He put his hand on Kise's knee and rubbed it absentmindedly. It was a habit he had picked up early on.

"Quite a doll Aomine's found for himself. Have you been introduced?"

"Doll?"

"Yeah, a short, blue-haired, dull-eyed doll. Tetsuya Kuroko. They look like night and day. Cute."

"You didn't come all the way down here to talk to me about Aomine, did you?" Kise asked calmly, but there was a strain in his smile.

"Not really," Hanamiya leaned in closer, moving his hand up Kise's thigh ever so slightly. "But it's peculiar, don't you think? That he'd bring his boyfriend to a place like this? The customers won't be happy about it when they find out. Aomine can barely tear his eyes off him. The doll's the belle of the ball."

The second bodyguard walked in and sat down with a quick nod to Hanamiya. 

"But you're right, Ryouta. Let's talk about something else. Could you get us some wine coolers first?"

"I can tell the waiter to get some," Kise said, ready to push the button that would call a waiter to their table, but Hanamiya stopped him with a small shake of his head in disapproval.

"I want you to get the wine coolers for us. Can you do that? They're in the storage room in the right corridor. Imayoshi doesn't serve them in the bar for some stupid Imayoshi-reason. Strawberry-flavored." Hanamiya's polite smile made him look more sinister than usual.

Kise walked across the floor, moving past the dense crowd, his eyes fixed on the doorway to the right corridor. He didn't want to see anything else. He was sure that that was Hanamiya's plan; to get him to see Aomine being all lovey-dovey with Kuroko. Kise didn't understand Hanamiya's fixation with him. It was clear that he knew that Kise hadn't been talking with Aomine for at least two months. Whatever beef Hanamiya had with Aomine wouldn't be avenged by messing with Kise anymore, not that it ever had. For someone as supposedly as intelligent as Hanamiya, he sure was stupid, Kise thought with annoyance. 

The storage room was three doors down the corridor. The beat from the music could still be heard from here as well as the chattering from the crowd. Kise froze when he heard someone in the kitchen drop a tray of plates followed by some indistinct yelling. Tonight's pressure was showing everywhere. Kise walked up to the storage room and pulled the door to the side, it was the only door in the building that opened sideways. He closed the door behind him quietly and tried to see if he could find the wine coolers from where he stood, but there were too many pallets stacked in the way to see all the way in and to all sides.

"Nngh... it's gonna get too hot in here too if you do that…"

That wasn't Takao's voice, was Kise's first thought. He quickly scanned the room again for the wine coolers. A part of him urged him to at least cover his ears, but he just stood there, frantically looking for the wine coolers so that he could hurry back.

"But it's the good kind of hot, Tetsu. C'mon, it's my birthday, and we're stuck here for a couple of hours anyway."

"Your birthday was last week." 

Kise could hear their light chuckles merge into gentle moans, muffled against their lips. They kissed so many times in between small murmurs, calling each other's names that soon coupled with a wet, viscous sound. He should have left, but he couldn't. He wanted to know if this was Aomine being dull. He wanted to see the person he should've been more like. He couldn't leave until he was certain that those excited and borderline desperate soft moans really came from Aomine. He peeked past a pallet; his breathing shallow and irregular when it felt like his chest was about to break into pieces.

"Tetsu…," Aomine mumbled against Kuroko's chin to have him look down. They shared a long, deep kiss while Aomine guided him down into every thrust. They knew each other. They knew where to find every erogenous zone and how to tease each other out of rhythm. Aomine let Kuroko set the pace, sometimes forgetting himself and taking control, but Kuroko would lead him back into it with gentle nibbles, tugs, and sweet murmurs.

The way out of the storage room was a haze. All Kise knew was that he was suddenly standing outside in the corridor, his fingers clenching around the carton handle of the four-pack of wine coolers, hard enough for it to ache. He wasn't breathing right, he could sense it once his sight was framed in a blur, but he kept on walking, back out to the floor where he was hit by the loud noise and the constantly changing colors of the never ending light show.

"About time, Ryouta. Did you run back here?" Hanamiya looked at Kise as he put the wine coolers on the table and sat back down, Kise's breathing near sobs.

"Yeah... let's have something to drink." 

"What do you want to drink?" Hanamiya moved in closer and spoke in a soft tone.

"Shots. Let's do shots." Kise's voice wavered and he laughed.

Hanamiya ordered two large trays of shots, and the wait, although short, seemed eternal. The waiter had barely put their order on the table before Kise reached for one of the small shots and drank it, bottoms up.

"You seem ready to have fun, Ryouta." Hanamiya's voice was closer to his ear than usual. His lips seemed to be tracing the shell of Kise's ear, and normally, this is where Kise would move away, but he was too swept up in the burning of whatever it was that he was drinking. 

"Breathe or you'll pass out."

Kise nodded quickly and reached for his fourth shot. Hanamiya was rubbing his inner thigh slowly, biting Kise's neck and then he licked at the marks he left behind. Kise couldn't bring himself to care. When he brought a sixth shot to his lips, Hanamiya grabbed his wrist to keep him from drinking it.

"Easy, now. I want you conscious for this."

Hanamiya gripped Kise by the back of his head and pulled him in for a forceful kiss. The brute force of it felt oddly familiar. Kise parted his lips when Hanamiya demanded entrance, and barely noticed the small pill Hanamiya passed him; he swallowed.

"You'll feel a lot better soon, Ryouta. A whole lot better. Kamiya, are you recording this?"

One bodyguard got up to keep lookout as the other pulled out his cellphone. Kise was faintly aware of the zipper on his pants being pulled down. He let out a small whimper of protest when he couldn't get his body to work the way he wanted it to work. His arms felt heavy and a thick mist lay over his mind, making it seem as if he was trying to move under water. The warmth of the alcohol spread throughout his chest and burned at the gaping wounds Kise was sure were there, and it momentarily melted him back together. 

"Half-hard already? Did you see something you liked back there?" Hanamiya whispered in a mocking tone as he rubbed and teased Kise to a full erection for the cellphone camera.

"Hnn... s-stop..."

"Stop? But look at you, Ryouta. How do you figure I should stop now when you're like this?" Hanamiya smirked. "How long have you gone untouched? It's your ridiculous loyalty to Aomine that's led you here, you know that don't you? Have you only gotten off to him, Ryouta?"

Kise tried to push Hanamiya's hand off of him as soon as he gained some control over himself, but Hanamiya squeezed his hand around Kise and snickered against his ear as he sped up the pace and got a choked moan out of Kise.

"Aah... ah…" Kise closed his eyes tightly, overtaken by a dry and overpowering fever that made his hips move on their own to get more friction. Every other sensible thought that had faintly screamed "run" in the back of his mind, died out one by one until a heated fog was all there was. All parts of his body except for the parts Hanamiya was touching numbed out, and Kise stopped struggling.

"I bet you're in seventh heaven now, Ryouta, but you have to control your voice a little, or do you want people passing by to see you like this?"

Kise shook his head, pursing his lips.

"Tell me, what kind of person are you? Do you need love to have sex?" Hanamiya paused briefly as Kamiya moved back slightly to get a full shot. "Have you ever had sex with love?"

Kise shook his head again.

"No, right? See, I knew that your dad had lied to me. You do have a talent. I knew you had one as soon as I laid eyes on those pictures that friend of yours gave me. Sex without love, that's your talent, and you should take that talent on the road, Ryouta. It would be such a waste if you didn't."

Hanamiya jerked him off faster. Kise could see the beginnings of sparks behind his tightly closed eyes, but a small part of him kept fighting against complete capitulation. He didn't want this. He wanted to hate it, but as disgusted as he felt with the situation and himself, the heat was far too overwhelming, and having someone desire him when he'd been draped in loneliness for so long, cushioned the blow of giving in.

When the white noise in his ears started to fade and the numbness started to wear off, he became aware of Hanamiya's intruding tongue in his mouth, and he did nothing.

"Now I've got some footage of my own," Hanamiya said with heavy breaths. "You were just as advertised, Ryouta. After this, you'll go to Imayoshi and tell him that you want to make house calls, and you'll write me down for the whole weekend, Friday to Monday. It's just seems a little tacky to fuck you in here. We're not exactly Aomine and his sweet boyfriend, are we? The pay will be substantial."

Hanamiya rose to his feet and left with one last, mocking wink Kise's way, his two bodyguards close behind. Kise thought for a quick second that he was going to throw up, but instead he found himself covering the tracks. He took the bundled up tissues Hanamiya had left behind and quickly tossed them into a discreet bin under the table. He looked down on his clothes to make sure that there were no visible stains, and once he had made sure that the traces were gone, he had another shot. His smile was back on his face in time for his next customer, and the one after that.

Towards the end of his shift, the cracks started to show. Kise ran to the bathroom on trembling legs. He locked the door to the bathroom stall after him, and gripped the sides of the toilet seat tightly as he threw up until he was completely empty. 

Kise sank to the floor, shaking as he absentmindedly flushed three times in a row. His throat felt raw. Tears streamed down his face, and that fog still lingered at the brink of his mind, making Kise want to reach into his own brain and tear it out of himself.

There was a soft knock on the door, and a woman spoke in a soft voice.

"Are you okay in there?"

"I'm fine," Kise replied automatically, not even questioning why there would be a woman in the men's room, and not even considering that he might be in the wrong room. 

The woman didn't say anything else. She left soon enough. The constant dull beating from the music outside faded and came to a complete stop. It was closing time. The lights would flicker out soon, and if Kise didn't leave, he'd be left in the dark.

He got up onto his feet and walked out of the bathroom stall only to stare at himself in the long mirror covering the walls. His eyes were bloodshot, his face was streaked with tears, his lips dry; he was quite the pathetic sight. He walked up closer to the mirror and touched his own face, pinching at his pale cheeks with disdain. Hanamiya was right. He wasn't the Ryouta Kise his mother once had known and loved. He was an impostor. A low-quality rip-off of what he had been. He didn't have his father's money to give him worth anymore. His value was in what he produced.

"I need money to leave…," Kise muttered to his own reflection.

He went to the changing room to get his stuff, changed clothes, and freshened up. With a small, half-empty bag in his hand, Kise walked to the bar where Imayoshi was in the midst of finishing the polishing of the last batch of glasses.

"Hey, blondie," Imayoshi said casually, as if it hadn't been weeks since he had last greeted Kise like that. "You did good today. You earned a bucket load. You'll get that apartment of yours in no time."

Kise gave a slow nod. News sure travels fast around here.

"You can't go back to Aomine's tonight, though," Imayoshi said as he put the last glass down and wiped the counter in front of him. "He's got company and he doesn't want to be disturbed. You're welcome to crash on any couch in here, if you'd like."

"No, I'm fine, thanks. I'll find someplace else," Kise said, his grip on his bag grew tighter as his chest started to ache again. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What's that, blondie?" Imayoshi asked calmly.

"I... I want to make house calls." Kise glanced at his bag before he managed to look ahead, afraid that his pale complexion would reveal any of the turmoil inside of him.

Imayoshi looked up so fast that it seemed like he'd dislocate his neck. He pushed his glasses up his nose and stared at Kise as if he needed a moment to let the words sink in.

"You want what, now?"

"I want to make house calls. I'm not asking for permission. I'm asking if you want a cut. The house always gets a cut, right?"

Imayoshi hesitated. He gave the appointment book a quick look from where he stood and then he looked back at Kise as he reached for a pen in the front pocket of his shirt. 

"You've got a deal," he said with a heavy sigh and wrote Kise's name into the book. "You'll have to use your alias."

"Okay."

"It may take some time to get customers. I'll have to get the word out, and you know..., it'll take time, so don't count on this as a source of income for at least three months. If you change your mind about this, you tell me right away, and I'll cross you off."

Whether this was a ploy to keep Kise from taking this one step further or not, Kise would never know. It was too late for interventions, as far as he was concerned. Imayoshi's short-lived worries wouldn't get him food nor shelter.

"Hanamiya wants me booked for the weekend. From Friday night to Monday morning."

"... that so?" Imayoshi asked with an expression Kise couldn't quite read. Imayoshi looked back down on the appointment book and reluctantly wrote Kise in for the whole weekend.

"Is kissing included in the price?" Kise asked.

"Uh, well, yeah, usually. I'll have a price list printed out for you tomorrow. They aren't rules, just guidelines. You can make your own rules based on them. Make sure you make rules and stick to them."

"Okay. Thanks. I have to go." Kise walked around the bar and was almost near the doorway to the corridor when Imayoshi stopped him.

"Hey, blondie!"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Kise smiled. "I'm fine."


	11. Gravitational Collapse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)

* * *

Among all the things Kise came to learn during his time with Hanamiya, the most important lesson was that it was better not knowing. He preferred to be momentarily surprised and then close his eyes to completely detach himself from whatever happened. It worked most of the time. The rest he numbed out with alcohol.

Hanamiya had two hours left of his fifth long weekend with Kise, and he wanted to make them special. An entourage of three escorted Kise to a building somewhere in the city, early in the morning. Kise didn't pay much attention to his surroundings once he was in the car. At their destination, he was led into a bright, small room, and he allowed himself to gulp slightly. There was a leather couch on one end, turned to a mirrored wall where there was a small elevated circle on the floor.

The entourage of three left the room, closing the doors after themselves, leaving Kise alone for a short moment to take in the sight and have his imagination run wild. Hanamiya walked in through another door, smartly dressed in a suit and tie. With him was a smaller, elderly man. He had a long, yellow measuring tape hanging around his neck, and in his hand he held a notebook in a leather cover.

Hanamiya sat down on the dark couch and motioned for Kise to follow the man up to the mirrors.

"This is unusual, I'm sure you agree, Ryouta, but it'll make sense in a minute."

Kise got up onto the elevated circle and was told to face the three mirrors as the old man pulled off the measuring tape from around his neck.

"What kind of suits do you like?" Hanamiya asked from where he sat and watched Kise's face closely for any other reaction than confusion.

"I don't like suits."

"You'll need one," Hanamiya said with a smirk. "How about color?"

"Blue."

Kise stretched his right arm out and then his left as the old man took his measures and wrote them down in his notebook. Kise wanted to ask what the suit was for, the question was on the tip of his tongue, but it was better not knowing.

The old man walked out without a word once he had what he needed. Kise looked down at the floor when Hanamiya's unwavering gaze through the mirror became too unsettling. These remaining hours would stretch on forever at this rate. Kise wanted to be over with it and run back to the safety of his room where he could work on his star maps until it was time to do this all over again.

"Imayoshi told me you were looking for an apartment."

"Yeah."

"I know of a great apartment in your price range. I could help you, Ryouta."

Kise hated when Hanamiya used his first name. He couldn't hear it without shuddering in disgust; Hanamiya drawled it as if his intention was to soil it.

"In exchange for what?"

Hanamiya got onto his feet and strolled over to Kise just as the old man walked back in, pushing a clothes rail in front of him with different suits in different shades of dark blue.

"Undress," Hanamiya ordered. "Slowly."

Kise grabbed his T-shirt from the back and pulled it off. He pulled down his pants, folded them and put them on a small stool, Hanamiya watching his every move up close.

"As I see it, there's only one way for you to obtain and keep this apartment. There's a big ceremony the day after tomorrow, all new family members attend it and vow their loyalty to me. If you join us on that day, I'll make sure to take care of you, in exchange for you, of course. You'll get a unique brand that I've been saving for a couple of years."

Kise looked himself in the mirror as he tested the first suit in a line of many. Kise glared at Hanamiya through the mirror, clenching his jaw in frustration.

"I have to join your gang to get an apartment? I'd rather die."

"Funny you'd say that," Hanamiya said and pulled out a light blue envelope from the inner pocket of his blazer. He handed it to Kise playfully, a wicked smile on his face. Kise opened it and pulled out an invitation card. The handwriting made his heart skip a beat.

"Eight o'clock at home? What's this?"

"This, Ryouta, is your second option. Trust me when I say that you've only got two options. If you try anything else, I'll crush your throat with my bare hands and throw your body in a ditch. I've got eyes and ears everywhere, Ryouta. You can't escape me." Hanamiya got up onto the circle and unbuckled Kise's belt to get him out of the suit that Hanamiya obviously didn't like. Kise struggled to not shudder at Hanamiya's casual touches across his abdomen and up his chest. A shudder would only encourage him. "Do you remember the first time I jerked you off? Well, it turns out that your father is such a bore that I just had to share that clip with him. You were mewling like a cat in heat, remember? He wasn't as pleased with it as I was."

"... Why would you...?" Kise breathed in disbelief.

"Because your family sickens me. Because the look of sheer horror and repugnance on your fathers face at seeing you like that is amusing to me, take your pick. My reasons aren't relevant to you. All you need to know, Ryouta, is that your daddy dearest wants to give you a chance at redemption. If the family name ever meant anything to you at all, you'll go home at eight o'clock the day after tomorrow, he said. Once there, Ryouta, he'll liberate you from your life as a whore. I don't see the fun in that. You'd be much better off as a morale booster in our gang."

Hanamiya was good at multitasking. He had helped Kise into another suit while he talked, and looked at it with a more pleased look in his eyes. He gave Kise a nonchalant glance, smirking at Kise's sudden loss of color, the small drop of his jaw, and the disappearing light in his eyes.

"Takeda, do you have any black ties to go with this? This might be the last thing Ryouta wears, it'll have to fit the occasion." Hanamiya chuckled. "Deep breaths, Ryouta. You don't want to faint do you? I won't be able to control myself. Besides, I'll need your assistance on the car ride back." 

Kise stared at his own reflection, his breathing coming in short raggedy gasps as Hanamiya put a black tie around his neck with such gentleness that Kise almost made an immediate decision despite the panicked thoughts racing through his mind.

It was always better not knowing.

-x-

Imayoshi had been born into the underworld of Tokyo. The Yakuza, the nightlife, that was what he knew. The dark side of the moon wasn't a place for everyone, Imayoshi had learned that early on in life, and though it was encouraged, he never recruited people on his own accord. He had seen too many break trying to become something they weren't. Kise was one of those people. It had been an unpleasant surprise to figure it out after it was too late to do anything about it. Imayoshi was usually perceptive; he could quickly read people and figure out their agenda, and that was exactly what he thought he had done with Kise.

Tactical errors weren't common for him. He saw others make those errors and he'd scorn at their panicked reactions, but he was at loss now. He knew that there was something he should be doing, but he wasn't in position to reach out to Kise, and even if he attempted it, he wouldn't know what to say without making it worse. Fortunately, it would soon be out of his hands. Kise was leaving. He had found a new place, he had made good money, and he would soon be gone, taking Imayoshi's guilt with him. Out of sight, out of mind.

It was eleven o'clock on a Monday morning. Aomine walked in with a grumpy look that could only mean one thing; trouble in paradise.

"Good morning, sunshine," Imayoshi said sarcastically as Aomine sat down by the bar with a mumble for reply. "Do I have to ask what happened or do I just wait for it to come?"

"Guess who's been dropping plates again?" Aomine said sternly. "Guess who can't shut up about the rag that's used to dry the milk off the fucking coffee machine or whatever, and guess who keeps drying off the counter with it?"

"Bad morning?"

"Try week," Aomine sighed. "I know more about that Kagami than I would if I was there to watch him work."

"How does he still have work?" Imayoshi asked, mostly to himself.

"Beats me."

"So Kuroko talks about the guy; I would too if I had someone dropping all of the plates on the floor."

"You'd fire his ass," Aomine corrected him. "I don't think Tetsu even notices how much he goes on about it."

"You haven't told him?"

"Why should I? Tetsu gets a look, y'know, when he talks about him. Like he's annoyed, but at the same time he's not, and I've seen that look somewhere. I just don't know where and it's driving me nuts."

"So you're worried this might be a problem?" Imayoshi asked with a frown, handing Aomine a cup with a teabag in it and poured him hot water.

"According to Tetsu, I shouldn't be worried, so... could you make it Irish? I've been dying for a smoke all day and I need something to take the edge off."

"When was the last time he said that?" Imayoshi reached under the counter for the emergency whisky and poured a generous drop into Aomine's cup, reminding him of unpleasant old memories.

 "Some time ago."

"Some time ago? Aomine, are you serious? You haven't asked him since? Kuroko's like the most honest person in your life! Communication, Aomine! How many times have we told you: communicate!"

"Yeah, well, I don't know. I guess I'll have to 'communicate' sooner or later, but I'm sort of in the middle of something. I have to straighten myself out first. Speaking of communication," Aomine looked down into his tea quickly and scratched the back of his neck, "How's Kise doing?"

"He's doing alright," Imayoshi was quick to reply, knowing full well how dangerous a pause there could have been. He wasn't entirely sure why he had lied. He knew that Kise was far from alright. He also knew that Aomine was probably the only one with a snowball's chance in hell to get through to Kise. How could he tell Aomine that Kise was making house calls without digging up a well-buried past?

"That's good. Has he been making any money?"

"Average."

"Can I tell you something? Off the record. I don't want this on the Tōō Newsletter."

"Sure."

"Without any judgment?"

"I make no promises."

"Alright," Aomine sighed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I have, uh, had these thoughts lately. They worried me at first because I was dead-set on being with Tetsu after fighting for it for so long, even though what we have isn't what we used to have, you know? I love Tetsu, I do, and I want him in my life, it's just... you know?"

"I haven't got a fucking clue. What the hell are you talking about?" Imayoshi asked, almost gaping at hearing Aomine being so incoherent while sober.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? I've been thinking about Kise a lot. It's embarrassing. The more I try not to think of him, it gets worse. I heard someone say strawberry ice cream the other day and there he was. I know you're gonna say that it's because I'm going through a rough patch with Tetsu, but we're not. We're fine, our relationship has changed, that's all. But it doesn't feel like it'd be... bad," Aomine hesitated as if this was the first time he heard himself say it out loud. "... if it ended. We're on good terms now. We're friends. I listen to him talk about that inept idiot, and instead of getting worried or feeling like I should be marking territory, all I can think about is: where the hell have I seen that expression before? And… it's the expression I make, when I think about Kise… it has to mean something, right?" Aomine looked at Imayoshi, almost desperate for validation for his theory.

"Right…"

"I wanna talk to Kise, and I was wondering if you could set us up for a random encounter. Pair us up for some task around here or something, make it casual. I don't think he's too happy about how I just cut him off. I know I'm not. Can you do it?"

Aomine looked at him with a certain eagerness in his eyes that made him seem ten years younger. He was also shaking his leg nervously. Imayoshi pushed his glasses up his nose with a sigh and seemed to be thinking about the favor Aomine was asking of him when he really was just prolonging the inevitable.

"Aomine, listen…"

"No. I'm gonna go through with this, all I need to know if you can do me this favor. I don't need preaching, lecturing, eye-openers, or anything like it; I just need your help."

Imayoshi could have just told Aomine about the part that Kise was leaving; that it might be too late to do anything about it. He didn't need to know about everything else, but Imayoshi had to look out for himself; it's what he knew. If Aomine found out about one thing, and then the other, he would also know that Imayoshi had kept him in the dark.

"Aomine, there are some things that you need to know first."

-x-

Breaking up with Kuroko had been a vague idea Aomine had cautiously toyed with on the off-chance that his feelings for Kise were anything other than a stubborn turn-on. If he ever ventured out to discover what those feelings were, he had to break up with Kuroko. Knowing what he knew now had awoken a sense of urgency; if he didn't act now, Kise would leave and Aomine wouldn't get to resolve these insistent feelings that had been bothering him for too long.

The sound of Kuroko's voice on the other end of the line had Aomine change his mind almost instantly. He had to be mistaken. If anything, what he felt for Kise, what he thought he felt, had to be a fad. Imayoshi had seemed uncertain about Aomine's decision, and done his best to talk him out of it. Aomine loved Kuroko with all his might. His love for Kuroko had been his gospel truth for many years, and he should be surprised, shocked even, that anyone could come into his life and make him question it. Even so, he had uttered the dreadful sentence no one wanted to hear, "We need to talk." Kuroko agreeing would have taken the number one spot of the worst things Aomine had heard, had Imayoshi not told him of Kise's plan to leave, and of the things Kise had been up to this past month.

Aomine gulped hard. He had pressed the doorbell and he could hear Kuroko walk up to the door on the other side. He changed his mind a hundred times before Kuroko stood there before him. He wanted to take a deep breath to calm down and tell Kuroko something else that wasn't what he had planned to say, but thoughts of Kise kept interfering.

"Aomine-kun."

Kuroko's serene voice broke his chain of thoughts. Aomine found himself looking into Kuroko's baby blue eyes and exhaled softly. He started to count all the things he'd miss about Kuroko, everything from his calming presence, to the sweet and addictive scent in the nape of his neck, to gentle smiles that had saved him so many times before.

"Tetsu…" Aomine stopped Kuroko in the middle of the hallway.

If they went any further into Kuroko's apartment, Aomine would drown in beloved memories. He'd grab a hold of Kuroko and never let him go, all the changes between them be damned.

"Shit, I don't know how to… say this," Aomine scratched the back of his head. His bottom lip quivered subtly. This was harder than he ever thought it would be. He was petrified for what this would mean for his future. Kise was an unsafe bet. Aomine still didn't know all the ins and outs of Kise's situation. He only had half-baked theories as to why Kise was making bad decisions, and he still believed that Kise could end it at any moment and go back to his family and the life he had left behind. Even so, Aomine had to find a way to understand the feelings he had for Kise, and he wouldn't be able to as long as he was together with Kuroko.

Kuroko held his hands, observing Aomine with sadness in his eyes. He knew. Kuroko read Aomine like an open book. It was as fascinating as it was annoying. It had spoiled Aomine and led him to believe that he didn't need communication, that his message would come across anyway. Kuroko stood on his toes as he cupped Aomine's face gently and leaned in for a soft, comforting kiss.

"Tetsu, I love you…," Aomine began, cursing the wavering of his voice. "... but, we've changed."

Kuroko nodded, biting his lower lip as a tear fell down his cheek.

"We have," Kuroko agreed, his voice thick.

"I wish we hadn't. I'm sorry, Tetsu."

"Don't be. We had fun, didn't we?" Kuroko smiled weakly.

"When all of this blows over, we'll still be friends, right?" Aomine didn't hold back his tears. He held Kuroko tightly, inhaling the scent in the nape of his neck as if this was the last time he'd get the chance. Kuroko nodded again. As they stood there, embracing, time seemed to come to a stop. An important era had come to end in their lives, and as Aomine left the safety and warmth of Kuroko's embrace, he wandered to the nearest bar to drown his sorrows, regretting his decision every step of the way.

-x-

There was more to Orion than just his belt. The whole of Orion was up there in the sky, holding a bow, accompanied by his two dogs. Kise had drawn faint lines between the stars on his star map to make out what parts of Orion were visible from the rooftop, and he had marked one star in particular, the one that was Orion's left shoulder; Betelgeuse. He had read about Betelgeuse being a red supergiant star, the kind that turns into a supernova once it dies, and Betelgeuse was nearing the end of its life.

Kise pulled his knees to his chest and looked at his three star maps that he had put next to each other on the floor. Tuesday evening already, a small voice echoed across his thoughts of stars.

He thought it weird how astronomers used time concepts. They would say things like ‘Betelgeuse is about to die’, as if it was something that would happen in a year or two, when Betelgeuse’s death was predicted to occur within the next million years.

The blue invitation card lay on top of his nightstand, and his new suit hung on the door, ghosting in the periphery of his eyes. Kise took a deep breath and turned his attention back to his star maps, stubbornly.

He had grown attached to Betelgeuse over the past few weeks. A star that massive was at least a million times larger than the sun and they burned brightly for billions of years and as its end comes, it explodes, destroying everything in its path while also providing the basic elements that make up the universe. Something that strong did also have a weak point, and it was something Kise had found comfort in knowing. Betelgeuse's life would end as soon as it started to produce iron. The iron would absorb its energy, and Betelgeuse would collapse into a magnificent light show that would be seen from Earth. Where there once had been a brightly shining star, there would be a black hole in its wake.

Kise rolled the star maps and put blue ribbons around each. There was no way of knowing if Aomine would ever use these, or if they'd soon be in the bin. Whichever choice Kise made, he'd never come in contact with Aomine again, but he hoped that Aomine would at least look at them once, and know that he had thought of him every time he had looked up at the night sky.

He put them on the nightstand carefully. He walked out of the guest room and looked down the short corridor that led to the kitchen. It was quiet and dark. Kise could hear the upstairs neighbors go from one room into another. He looked into the small living room on the other side of the corridor and considered watching television until he fell asleep, but he couldn't bring himself to move. For a split second, he thought of stealing something; a memento of his time here, but the only place there could be a memento worth stealing was in Aomine's room.

As Kise stood there, counting the pros and cons in hopes that he'd convince himself to go the no-entry zone and take something, the front door opened, and in came a stumbling Aomine. Kise froze. His heart started to beat faster, his mouth went dry, and the list of pros and cons turned into a frenzy of thoughts telling him to run. He wasn't feeling strong enough to brush off any comments from Aomine right now. Aomine's brute honesty had a way of cracking through Kise's defenses. Today, it would cut through him with ease, and Kise needed a break to build up walls.

Aomine didn't see him until he was halfway down the short corridor. The front door closed after him with a small bang, and it didn't seem to get his attention at all. He stared at Kise, stumbling slightly from standing still for too long. This was the most they had seen of each other in months. Kise had thought of Aomine a lot, but with only thoughts and memories, Aomine had become some sort of imaginary person in Kise's mind, like a dream right when you wake up. Now he was here, staring him down in silence.

Kise was certain that he would mumble some kind of apology once he could finally get his feet to move. He'd go to the living room and Aomine could go to his room to sleep the buzz off. They'd continue their lives apart, as it should have been from the very start.

Aomine hurried up to Kise as soon as he moved away from the wall, getting a hold around his hips as he led Kise back against the wall with a mumble of a protest. Aomine's hold was gentle but firm. He moved his fingertips in small, soothing motions as he leaned his forehead against Kise's and closed his eyes briefly. His breath was laced with the smell of alcohol, and Kise wondered how drunk he was to be doing this. Kise tried to wriggle out of Aomine's hold, but Aomine stepped in closer, using his body weight to keep Kise from leaving, and almost as compensation, he ran his hand across Kise's cheek, brushing his fingers through his bangs softly as his eyes fluttered open.

Had Aomine's eyes always been that blue? Kise gulped. His heart was pounding in his chest. Kise wanted to reach his hands out just to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating, but a small voice in the back of his head reminded him that it was better not knowing. He closed his eyes only to have his focus shift to Aomine's slightly heavier breathing. Kise listened, attentively, trying to match up what he was hearing now with memories from a past that seemed so distant.

Aomine slowly touched Kise's lips with his thumb, moving in closer as he felt their softness, watching intently, eagerly. The first kiss made Kise nearly yelp in surprise. It was tender, cautious, frightening. Aomine started with Kise's upper lip, kissing after his thumb. His tongue darted out every now and then to lick at Kise's lips, and with every soft kiss, Aomine's desperation grew bigger. He draped his lips over Kise's, passing his thumb across them at every small break for air.

Aomine's fascination with Kise's lips left Kise lightheaded, his cheeks felt flushed, and his knees like they'd buckle any second.

Aomine moved in closer still, pressing up against Kise, as he left a trail of wet kisses down Kise's jawline, angling Kise's head back slightly to gain as much access to his neck as the wall behind him would allow. He tugged at Kise's shirt, caught in the dilemma of having to pause to take it off or just get Kise' out of his pants while he kissed him again. Aomine opted for the second option, a small growl in the back of his throat when Kise's belt didn't come undone as quickly as he wanted it to.

As the shock and surprise of what was happening wore off and lifted Kise's momentary inability to act, he ran his arms around Aomine's neck, parting his lips with a small whimper. Aomine had never kissed him like this, with such immersion and need. No one had. That small whimper made Aomine abandon his attempt to pull Kise's pants off. He cupped Kise's face, deepening the kiss until they had to break for air, and then he kissed Kise again.

Kise had forgotten the intensity with which he yearned for Aomine. He had been numb and jaded. His world had been Hanamiya up until this moment. The small voice in the back of his head urged him to put an end to this. It had been a struggle to accept his fate and worth. Aomine threatened to undo all of that hard and painful work, but Kise couldn't care less.

A shaky moan escaped Aomine's lips when they broke for air once more, and he tugged at Kise's shirt with urgency. He pulled Kise away from the wall and helped Kise out of his shirt quickly before he pressed Kise up against the wall again, kissing and sucking at Kise's neck, his hands roaming up his naked torso fervently.

Aomine sunk to his knees, finally pulling Kise's pants and underwear down. He got a firm grip around Kise's hips. He was breathing hard, Kise could feel every hot breath against his skin where Aomine placed soft kisses before taking Kise into his mouth. Kise gripped at Aomine's strong arms holding him up on his feet as Aomine sucked and kissed at him. They both filled the quiet apartment with moans, whimpers, and wet sounds. Kise could barely hear any of it over the pounding in his chest. Aomine was out to devour all of him, to taste every bit of skin, and to breathe the very air in Kise's lungs.

Aomine swallowed every drop of Kise as the blond came hard, trembling with effort and exhaustion. Aomine still seemed to have a long way to go before letting this come to an end. He kissed up Kise's torso, running his hands up his sides until he stood face to face with him again. Aomine caught Kise's lips in a lazy kiss just as he inhaled sharply through his nose. He stepped back slightly. Their breaths mingled between them. Kise's chest heaved up and down. He stole a glance of Aomine, watching through his eyelashes, while he wondered if he might have lost his mind. He pressed his lips against Aomine's to have Aomine kiss him, and he marveled at the fluttering sensation spreading over his body like ripples through water when Aomine kissed him over and over on his demand.

"Don't go," Aomine said in a heated whispered against Kise's lips. He brushed stray blond locks aside, cupping Kise's face while placing soft kisses on his face. "Stay. Please."

Kise nodded quickly when a sudden lump in his throat threatened to spill into tears if he spoke. Breathing still hurt. His chest was still bruised with wounds he couldn't see. There was so much he needed to say; good and bad. There was so much he wanted Aomine to know, but right this second all he wanted was for them to melt into one another. He wanted Aomine everywhere. He wanted Aomine to erase all and every trace of the past month that was left on his body, and it seemed like Aomine was planning to do exactly that.

The short trip to the guest room was a blur of kisses and desperate touches. It wasn't until Aomine lay on top of him, completely naked, rocking against him that Kise realized that he was on his back, in bed, legs wrapped around Aomine's waist and arms wrapped over his broad shoulders. In the next blink, Aomine had two wet fingers inside, working them in and out slowly, knowing exactly how to angle his strokes to find that special spot that made Kise instinctively lift his hips slightly to give more access.

"Hnnn-aah... haa... ngh..." Kise couldn't keep it in even if he tried.

"Beautiful," Aomine murmured between every kiss when he wasn't swallowing Kise's moans. "So beautiful."

Had he died already? Had he fallen asleep and been caught in a dream of wishful thinking? His doubts were cleared once Aomine pushed inside. They were cleared once the throbbing heat inside him filled and stretched him to his limit, setting the rhythm of his heartbeat, becoming the core that would make him burn as vibrantly as Betelgeuse.

This was happening.

Aomine moved slowly, pressing upward with every thrust, guiding Kise's hips into his pace with such gentleness that the line of where he began and Aomine ended blurred. He leaned over Kise when he started to move faster. He kissed right by the base of Kise's ear, moaning at every clench around him sucking him in deeper.

"I love you," Aomine whispered against his ear. "I love you so much, Tetsu... Tetsu…”

Kise blinked slowly as the blood in his veins froze to ice.

When a supergiant star starts to produce iron, their end is nigh. A millisecond is all it takes when fusion stops and gravity wins. A void, a bottomless pit, suctioning everything in its path, doomed to be forever empty, is born. Aomine became Kise's iron. Kise's weakened crown of light and the interior that maintained it collapsed into the void with only a soft sob to mark the destruction that had taken place.

As Kise neared another release, watching the ceiling blankly, he moved his head in close against Aomine's and said in a shaky whisper, "I love you, too."


	12. Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)

* * *

Early afternoons got chilly in Aomine's apartment once autumn arrived, especially when he laid in bed, naked, with the covers barely over him. He pulled them up over his back, frowning at the light that came in through the window. He was too tired to wake up now. He wanted to hide from the light in the nape of Kise's neck and pull him in tightly to share body heat. He reached his arm out lazily, searching for Kise. The bed wasn't very wide. It was down-right narrow. Kise should be right next to him unless he had fallen off and was asleep on the floor.

"Kise?" Aomine pushed himself onto his elbows and forced his eyes open. "Kise, come back to bed." He listened for any movements in the kitchen, but when he heard none, he flopped back down, burying his head into his pillow.

Aomine knew that there was a lot to talk about. There were a lot of emotions to work through. He thought he was going to get more time to gather himself, to prepare what he was going to say, to mentally prepare for what Kise would have to say. Aomine hadn't expected Kise to be here last night. He hadn't planned on being drunk and he would have definitely preferred to have been sober once he confessed to Kise, but considering how pleasantly sore he felt right now, things had gone well, all things considered.

"Kise!" Aomine tried again a little louder. He looked up from his pillow and saw three scrolls of paper, one on top of the other two, each tied together with a blue ribbon. Aomine sat up, curiosity getting the better of him. He glanced at the door quickly and took one scroll. There were dots and lines, and something Aomine thought could be rooftops, or trays. He put it back and hurried out of bed with sigh.

It had been ages since Aomine had gotten properly drunk, and the hangover lodged right behind his eyes; it made the room spin and an insistent voice that sounded eerily familiar to his own, nagged in the back of his mind. An Aspirin later, Aomine knew exactly where Kise had gone; to the no-entry-zone. Aomine hurried to his bedroom, expecting to see Kise lay there in his bed, hugging a pillow, his hair still a mess from last night, the covers barely clothing him, but Kise was nowhere to be found.

_"Tetsu…"_

"Kise?"

Aomine walked over to the window in his bedroom to look out over the courtyard. The kids from the neighborhood were on the basketball court, throwing a ball amongst themselves. Kise, however, was nowhere to be seen. Aomine ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Something was wrong.

_"...I love you…"_

Aomine dressed quickly. What day was it today? He reached for his cellphone while he locked the front door after himself and ran down the stairs.

"What the hell?"

Wednesday. Aomine had nearly missed an entire day. Why had nobody called?

_"...Tetsu."_

Slowly, it began to dawn on him.

"No, no, no!"

Aomine hurried out of his apartment. Memories from last night flooded his mind, not the pleasant memories he had woken up to, but other ones that were a haze and that Aomine had hoped had been the rest of a nightmare.

The chilly breeze burned in his lungs by the time he got to Tōō. He flung the doors open. His chest felt as if it was constricted by a large snake out to crush his bones, and he had to remind himself to take a deep breath if he wanted to do something about this situation.

"Good afternoon," Imayoshi said from behind the counter and took out a tea cup for Aomine. "You've been gone for a while. Did everything go okay with Kuroko?"

"Is Kise here?"

"I don't think so. He came by early to sort some stuff out. I wanted to get it done by five, but he said he had an important appointment. Probably a job interview or something, he was in a suit."

"Call him back in." Aomine was doing his best to hide his panic behind a stern mask.

"What? Aomine, I can't. His cellpho‒"

"Call him back right now. I had a chance last night. I had a chance to make things right. I fucked up and I need another." Aomine caught the small tremble in his own voice, and he quickly cleared his throat to hide it.

"What'd you do?" Imayoshi looked at him worriedly. "Weren't you supposed to break up with the light of your life? I thought you'd go on a bender after that."

"I was on a bender, and then I got home, drunk, and Kise was there…" Aomine paused in hopes that he wouldn't have to explain it further to make Imayoshi understand what had happened. "I said the wrong name," Aomine said miserably. "Right in the middle of it. At least I think I did. I need you to call Kise back in so that I can talk to him. If I call, and he's pissed, he'll just ignore it. Imayoshi, please."

"Listen," Imayoshi rubbed his eyes, lifting his glasses slightly. "I would if I could, but he left his cellphone here. He said you'd lent it to him and he left it here; he asked me to return it to you."

"How'd he look? Angry? Sad? Did he say anything about me? About where he was going?"

"Uhh, he looked fine. A weird kind of happy."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Exactly what I'm saying. A weird kind of happy, y'know, like at peace. Like he knew he was going somewhere better. Call me crazy, but I don't think he liked it here." Imayoshi shrugged with an unconcerned look on his face.

"So you don't know where he went?" Aomine clenched his fists tightly. "You think he went far? I mean, did he have luggage or something?"

"Well," Imayoshi began and scratched on one temple. "He did this really odd thing, for someone who's about to start anew…"

"What, what, what? Fuck, Imayoshi, don't keep me in suspense!" Aomine stomped his foot impatiently.

"He doesn't get paid until next Friday, right? Blondie's been making good money this month. If I'd been earning it, I'd want it on schedule. I told him to come by next Friday to pick up his check, and he told me not to worry about it; to split it among all the hosts equally to pay off some debt."

"How much?"

"It's not important. Weird though, right?"

"Imayoshi, how fucking much?" Aomine asked through his teeth.

"One point two," Imayoshi sighed.

"Grands?"

"Million."

Aomine sat down, eyes wide.

"Did you send him out on _every_ house call available?"

"Aomine, why are you doing this to yourself? Kise left, alright? He chose to do what he did. I didn't condone it. I didn't suggest it, and I sure as hell didn't advertise him."

"Who's on his client list?" Aomine asked, and reached over the counter to grab a small notepad and a pen.

"Aomine…"

"Someone's gotta know where he is. If he was in a suit, he might be looking for a company job. He studied economy. Give me names."

The front doors were flung open once more, and the bang of wood against wood called for, and caught, Imayoshi's and Aomine's attention, which was just what Hanamiya was after when he strolled in, his two loyal bodyguards right behind.

"Afternoon, gents," Hanamiya said with a smirk. "Aomine, what a delight to find you here. Just the person I wanted to talk to."

Aomine turned back to Imayoshi.

"The list. Now."

Imayoshi gave Aomine an apologetic look and then made a small motion with his head in Hanamiya's direction.

It was all Aomine needed to figure it out.

"Are you kidding? Tell me you're kidding." It was getting harder to speak by the second. There was red tainting his sight and it fed the constricting snake around his chest. His imagination quickly flashed disturbing and vivid images of Hanamiya on Kise, and he just about reached for a glass to crush against Hanamiya's face.

"What are you two talking about here? I honor you with my presence and you ignore me?" Hanamiya approached them. "What's with the face, Aomine? Lost something? A fucktoy, perhaps?"

Hanamiya had barely finished his sentence when Aomine's fist connected with his face hard enough to knock him off his feet. He fell ungraciously, his teeth ripping up a wound on his lip.

"Aomine, don't!" Imayoshi jumped over the counter, ready to interfere in case Aomine decided to attack Hanamiya again.

"Get up." Aomine clenched and unclenched his fist. He glared at Hanamiya. If looks could kill, Hanamiya would be halfway to the underworld.

Hanamiya chuckled and wiped the side of his mouth, giving it a quick look. His two bodyguards came to his aid and got him on his feet.

"A little sensitive, are we?" Hanamiya reached into his left pocket and threw one of his infamous envelopes at Aomine.

"Where's Kise?"

"I just tossed you a clue, ingrate."

"If you've done him any wrong, I swear..." Aomine dug into the envelope with trembling hands, breaking the paper at the sides when he pulled out its contents; pictures.

"Oh, I've done him wrong. I'm not the kinda guy who wants to do right, Aomine. I did many things to him, just never as many as you did. Our time together was cut short."

"What the hell is this?" Aomine flipped through the photos of him and Kise in bed, different beds, different hotel rooms.

"Did he ever tell you why his parents threw him out? It is a rather entertaining story. See, he was infatuated with you, and this dear friend of his found out about your encounters and took those lovely pictures. That same friend took them to me, and I took them to Kise Senior. Kise Senior, in turn, put a price on Ryouta's head. Now, I was hoping that the price would be put on your head, but this worked out so much better. You took something from me, I took something from you."

"What did you do to him?! Where is he?!" Aomine went for Hanamiya's throat but the two bodyguards interfered and shoved Aomine back. He saw the picture on top of the small bunch in the corner of his eye and all he could see was the memory of Kise propped against a wall in the alleyway, beaten to a bloody pulp.

"We don't have that much time to talk about the things I've done to Ryouta, you perv. I've got some of it recorded if you're interested." Hanamiya laughed mockingly as Imayoshi had to struggle to hold Aomine back. "As for his location... I had other plans for him. I was hoping to brand him with the seal I had made for Satsuki and to come full circle with our little squabble, to have some closure, y'know? But he was given another option. He's gone back home where his father is waiting for him, his favorite brand of scotch in one hand and a gun in the other. Ryouta was invited to his own execution, Aomine, and Kise Senior is the judge, jury and executioner."

"Wh... what?" Imayoshi grabbed Aomine by his shoulders and led him to a seat right by the bar when it seemed like his legs were about to fold.

"Yeah, he wasn't that big a fan of Ryouta's little crush on you, that's what got Ryouta's arm and leg broken. We were actually supposed to kill him then, but I wanted to see if he meant anything to you first. He clearly didn't, but you meant enough to him to make it work. I thought that, if anything, I'd get to crush his dad, but looks like he made some kind of impact on you after all. I win." Hanamiya smiled. His eyes lit up with the sweetness of victory, and it was a disgusting sight.

Aomine didn't answer. He got out of his seat, and despite Imayoshi's protests, he ran out of Tōō toward the first place that came to his mind; Azabu. The penthouse had to be 'home'.

Aomine felt the strain in his legs once he got onto the subway to Azabu. The short trip seemed eternal as he stood there, staring at his own reflection in the windows on the doors. Happy? Kise had looked happy? Dressed for an important appointment, Imayoshi had said. Aomine looked down at the floor. Kise wasn't the type. Surely, someone would've noticed if Kise had been suicidal? To go from all smiles and non-stop talking to anything but that, someone would've noticed. Aomine gritted his teeth. Who would? Aomine hadn't.

Aomine ran as soon as the doors slid open at the next stop, but he quickly came to a halt as he got out of the subway station. It was raining. How did he get to the penthouse from here? He looked around, searching in his mind for the faint memories of that one time he came here, but he had to give up and just go on feeling, hoping that he'd run into Kise on the way over.

Other memories flashed before his eyes, as if his brain wanted to run through every hint they had come across that should have served as warnings, but that had been systematically ignored. He saw the pleading look in Kise's eyes when he asked Aomine to stay and talk in a whole new light. He could see all the times he had chased a smile off Kise's face just to see if he could, and the desperation with which Kise constantly tried to reach out to people in hopes to make a connection. Aomine had always thought of that desperation as arrogance, that Kise had some innate belief that everyone would be interested in making his acquaintance. To see it for what it really had been, in a moment when it could be too late for realizations, made Aomine sick to his stomach.

-x-

Kise stared ahead blankly. He sat on a bench by a familiar road. The place that once had been home just lay across the street and up a small hill. Kise had been sitting there for almost two hours. In his mind, he had walked that path to the front door of his house at least a hundred times. He tried to think of this as a convincing nightmare he was about to wake up from. He'd walk in through the entrance that'd be decorated with flowers his mother had picked out. He'd walk down the hallway to the lounge, sliding his fingertips against the wallpaper that had always made him think of treasure maps. The eerily silence he imagined would be broken by a collective shout: Surprise! The lights would flicker on and reveal an array of smiling faces, and he'd wake up. Kise tried to stop his imagination there, where he saw himself standing among people he had considered loved ones and tried to focus on their faces, but his imagination broke the freeze-frame with the bullet that tore through the fabrics of the alternate universe Kise wanted to build for himself. There wasn't enough hope left in him to think that this could go any other way than his father and Hanamiya had planned.

His legs were heavy and didn't want to carry him any further. It had been drizzling for as long as he had been here. He hoped it was the drizzle that was making his legs heavy and numb. He'd need their strength once he made it to his father's office. Could it be too late to ask for mercy? For a split second Kise thought himself capable of promising anything if it meant a second chance, but something in him was different from the time he thought his parents wanted him back. The dark void in his chest had grown sharp edges that constantly reminded himself of the pain. It seemed impossible to think that it could ever go away. A second chance would only prolong its existence, and Kise was uncertain if he had the strength to carry it around on his already weak legs.

The beeping sound of a tow truck backing up broke Kise's chain of thoughts momentarily. It was time. Kise reached for the half-empty bag he had brought with him and tried to stand up, but found himself refusing.

"Yoshio?"

Kise didn't react, not to the name or the voice until his view was blocked by someone in a blue jumpsuit.

"Yoshio, what are you doing here? Are you alright? You're gonna catch a cold sitting here in the rain."

It took a few seconds for Kise to recognize the man before him, and he had to use every bit of strength to not break down and cry at meeting concerned blue eyes that had, in so many ways, reminded him of Aomine. It was the awkward man who only drank Screwdrivers and who not only remembered Kise's birthday, but also showered him in gifts; Kasamatsu.

"I'm... w-waiting," Kise managed to say.

"Out here? You could wait in my truck if you want..." Kasamatsu trailed off once he got a proper look at Kise. "Something's wrong. What is it? Are you feeling sick? Do you wanna go to the hospital? I can take you there."

The lump of tears in Kise's throat grew too big and ruptured into a sob. He shook his head, desperately trying to control himself, but once the first tears escaped, there was no going back. His body racked with violent sobs, making it hard to breathe.

"Hey, hey, easy," Kasamatsu said as gently as he could. He sat down next to Kise and put an arm around his shoulders. "Everything will be okay, Yoshio. C'mere."

Kise turned to let Kasamatsu pull him in for a long needed hug. The warmth that wrapped him was an overwhelming contrast to the cold rain. It became a small ray of light in the darkness that threatened to drown what was left of him. Kise clutched at Kasamatsu's back, his vision blurred by the tears continuously accumulating in his eyes.

"I don't wanna live anymore…," Kise managed to whisper past his sobbing.

"What?" Kasamatsu ran his arms tighter around Kise at understanding what he had heard, and he gulped.

"... but, I don't wanna die either. I don't know what to do." Kise's voice grew too thick with tears, and he paused for a second. "I just wanna go home."

"L-let's do that," Kasamatsu said with a small tremble in his voice. "Let's go home, and we'll talk, alright? Don't make any decisions. Let's just go home, yeah?"

Kise nodded weakly. Kasamatsu led him to his tow truck and buckled him in. They drove away from the familiar hill and the bench where Kise had been sitting, and the further away they got, the sleepier Kise became. He didn't stop crying, but at least he could breathe. The last thing Kise remembered doing before drifting off, was thinking that he should tell Kasamatsu to drop him off unless he wanted trouble, but the warmth made him selfish. He fell asleep, hoping he'd feel as warm when he woke up.

-x-

Hours had gone by. The night grew darker. Big, dark clouds obscured the night sky. Aomine found the building he had been to, the place where he thought Kise would call home, but it turned out that the penthouse hadn't been in the Kise family's possession for almost a year. They had sold it as soon as they had thrown Kise out, and no one in the vicinity had seen anyone that fit Kise's description. Aomine tried to cover every location he could think of, and when he came to the end of the short list, he stopped at a crossroad. He looked down every street, unsure of where he was, desperately hoping that he'd see Kise, knowing in his heart that he wouldn't have such luck.

Aomine called Imayoshi in hopes that he had any clues of where 'home' could be. The information he got wasn't of much help.

"Aomine, they've got five residences around and outside of Tokyo. The closest one is an hour away on train… just come back, alright? Maybe he changed his mind. If he didn't, it's too late to do anything about it anyway." Imayoshi sighed, stretching the pause. "Hanamiya said that the appointment was at eight. I'm sorry, Aomine."

Next thing he knew, he was back at the club. Momoi had pulled him into a tight hug and he ran his arms around her smaller frame, trembling as if he had been left out in the cold for days on end. He could sense the tears running down his face slowly, but it didn't feel like he was crying. He had been happy this morning. Everything had been far from perfect, but he had taken steps for change, and he had been certain that the changes were going to be for the better, and now he stood here, with the weight of Kise's possible demise hanging over him, threatening to crush him.

The heavy beat of the music made it through the walls and into the changing room in the far back where they were sitting, away from everyone. Momoi didn't let him go. She held Aomine close, rocking him slowly as she rubbed his back.

"Dai-chan, there was nothing you could have done," Momoi said softly. Aomine knew that she meant it as a comfort, but the white lie stirred a tsunami of guilt in him and he had to clear his throat to stop the insistent lump from forming there. He sat back and shook his head.

"That's, that's not true… I could have done something, but I left him alone." Aomine held back a sob and cleared his throat again.

"We all did," Imayoshi quickly added. "This isn't just on you, Aomine."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? He reached out to me. To us. And the only one who saw him was Hanamiya. What the fuck does that say about us? You thought he was alright the other day. And I just cut him off. I don't know what the hell he's been doing these past months aside from what Hanamiya felt like sharing." Aomine wiped his tears away angrily.

Imayoshi's cellphone started to vibrate and he sighed, reaching for it reluctantly. Even in the face of tragedy, the show had to go on. He had more people and their debts to care for even now. Imayoshi went for the door as he picked up, and he froze with his hand on the doorknob.

"Hello, this is Yukio Kasamatsu," said the voice on the phone.

Imayoshi gulped. Screwdriver-guy was one of Kise's few regulars aside from Hanamiya. This was the first time he had to tell any client that their preferred host had passed away. He glanced at Momoi and Aomine.

"Hey there, Kasamatsu. It's been a while. What can I help you with?"

"I guess you haven't noticed," Kasamatsu said sternly. "Yosh- ...Kise won't be coming in for work anymore. I found him earlier tonight, and he's not in very good shape. I was just calling to let you know that there's no need to worry. I guess I'm just wasting my breath."

"What?!" Imayoshi walked back into the room and sat down on the armrest next to Aomine. "Wait, wait, Kasamatsu, don't hang up. We've actually been looking for him. Frantically. I don't think you understand what good news this is. Is he wounded, or...?"

Both Aomine and Momoi looked up at Imayoshi.

"He knows where Kise is?" Aomine asked, his voice thick, but his eyes bright with the mention of good news. He urged Imayoshi to put the conversation on speaker and Imayoshi reluctantly agreed.

"Not physically. It took me a while to calm him down though. I'm still not clear on what's happened, only that it has something to do with his family and your number one host. He's asleep right now."

Aomine snatched the phone right out of Imayoshi's hand in a swift move.

"Aomine, give it back!" Imayoshi protested and reached after it, but Aomine turned away in time.

"Where are you? I'll go and get him immediately," Aomine said, keeping Imayoshi away with one arm.

"No. No, you're not. Kise will stay here with me, and you'll leave him alone. I'm not gonna say where we are and you won't look for us. You don't get it, do you? He could barely talk. He's been crying for hours! You're not‒"

"Put him on the phone. Just let me talk to him." Aomine scratched the back of his head with badly hidden frustration. Imayoshi sat back as Aomine tried to take a deep breath, but a lump of anxiety stopped the air from flowing into his lungs properly.

"I don't know what you put him through to make him like this, but I'll try to fix it. And if you have a shred of human decency in you, you and your friends will stay away."

"Put him on the goddamn phone, or I swear I'll tear you‒" Aomine began, the last of his patience gone.

Momoi snatched the phone away and gave it back to Imayoshi before Aomine could finish. She glared at him in disbelief and shook her head decisively.

"Fuck's sake, Aomine," Imayoshi mumbled before he turned his attention back to Kasamatsu. "Sorry about that. We're a little tense on this end. It's been a rough day."

"When Kise has recovered, he'll decide whether or not to contact you. I just called to let you know that he's safe now. Until he feels ready, stay away. I‒" Kasamatsu stopped mid-sentence and they could all hear muffled sound in the background.

"Kise?" Aomine hoped that Kise had woken up and heard Kasamatsu talk to them. Even if it was to yell at him, Aomine wanted to hear Kise's voice, but Kasamatsu cut in.

"I have to go. As I said, I just wanted to let you know that he's okay, all things considered. You can try and track this phone, but know that it's a disposable one. Leave us alone."

With that, Kasamatsu hung up and the line went dead. Aomine quickly rose to his feet with the intention of leaving the room.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Imayoshi asked and hurried after Aomine to put his foot on the door.

"To find Kise."

"Really? And how exactly are you going to do that? Sniff after him and hope you catch his scent?"

"Get outta my way," Aomine growled.

"Or else what?" Imayoshi challenged.

Momoi stood in between them by the time Aomine turned around. Imayoshi took a step back on Momoi's orders in the form of a gentle push. She looked at Aomine firmly, and he looked away in shame, hanging his head.

"Dai-chan, you have to calm down, stop and think. Alright?"

"I know!" Aomine said, exasperated. "I know. But I have to find him. Now. I can't let him think that I meant to hurt him. I just… I think I've hurt him so much, and I didn't mean to…"

"And maybe you'll hurt him more if you go after him now, Dai-chan." Momoi smiled softly as Aomine made eye-contact. "He waited for you, and now you have to wait for him until the time is right for you both. You need to heal, too, Dai-chan."

"Satsuki, I can't just…"

"You can, and you have to. You know that as much as I do. I won't let you ruin this for yourself, Dai-chan. There are so many things you haven't thought of… Hanamiya probably knows by now that his plan didn't fall through. He's like a dog with a bone, you know that. He'll keep his eyes on you, and have you lead them to Kise."

"She's right, y'know," Imayoshi said.

"...yeah," Aomine agreed reluctantly.

"So, can we trust you not to look for him?" Momoi asked carefully.

"I don't know." Aomine rubbed on his knuckles and stared ahead. "Probably not."

"Alright. That's good to know. We'll keep an eye on you. It'll be rough, but at least you know now." Imayoshi walked up to Aomine and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Aomine agreed quietly. "At least I know."

With an ache in his heart, he vowed to himself that he would do his best to stay away and give Kise time to heal. He knew that there would be days he'd break that vow; there would be days he'd lie about it to his friends, and go out of his way to find the least bit of trace of Kise. He also knew that he would eventually come to his senses and that those same friends would keep him from doing any more harm. Considering how badly all of this could have ended, Aomine found comfort in knowing that Kise had made it out alive.


	13. Starmap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)

* * *

A year and a half later...

* * *

 

 

Mid-spring in Tokyo suburbs was something else. It was relaxing to walk down the roads between residences as soft breezes blew through and rustled the crowns of the fully bloomed cherry trees. Aomine reminded himself to enjoy it some time when he didn't walk around with a knot in the pit of his stomach.

"Aomine, you look tense."

"I am tense, Tetsu." Aomine glared at Kuroko from the corner of his eye, gulping as they neared the small park ahead.

"Take a deep breath, Dai-chan." Satsuki rubbed his arm and smiled softly.

Aomine had convinced himself on and off that time would be enough for him to grow out of the feelings he had for Kise. It's what he had to think to not go out and search for Kise and risk hurting him all over again. At times, he didn't feel as much for the blond. He became someone of the past, buried underneath new memories and life events that made Aomine keep moving forward, and then night time came.

Aomine reached into his pocket where he carried one of the three starmaps. It had taken a night of despair for Aomine to realize what those scrolls were. He had been on the roof half of the night, tracing the stars with his fingers as the constellations on the starmap became visible to him in the sky. Kise was there at the end of his fingertips when he looked up at the stars, and when Aomine felt that small skip of a heartbeat in his chest, just by stargazing, he knew that these feelings wouldn't go away anytime soon.

"Do I look okay?" Aomine asked once they stopped at the corner of the street. "Not like I'm trying too much or anything?"

"You look great, Dai-chan,” Momoi said.

"If you only removed the tag on your brand new shirt…" Kuroko said and shrugged.

"What?" Aomine reached his hand behind his back to try to see if there was a tag hanging from the neckline of his shirt, but found nothing. "I've been walking around with a tag all day and you tell me now?"

Kuroko laughed and shook his head.

"Don't worry about silly things. Focus, and don't be a jerk, " Kuroko said with a small smile.

"We'll be around, so give us a call when you're done, alright? Good or bad, call us."

"Satsuki…"

"Dai-chan. Promise."

"Yeah, yeah. Good or bad, I'll call." Aomine wanted to roll his eyes, but instead he let out a small sigh of relief.

Aomine crossed the street without looking back. He'd lose his nerve if he did. He walked the wide road into the park. He could hear the collective chatter of kids in play and the steady bounce of a basketball. Aomine followed the sound.

A young couple passed him by. He noticed because they were walking a dog that looked like an older version of Kuroko's dog. Aomine exhaled slowly. He had known this moment would come for the past two months. Kasamatsu had called him and told him to prepare what he wanted to say because Kise wanted to see him. The conversation had been brief. Aomine was sure he had sounded stupid, and he was eighty percent certain that Momoi had been in contact with Kasamatsu long before he had called Aomine. She swore up and down that she hadn't talked to him, and yet Kasamatsu had been able to call him on his new cellphone.

Past the vibrantly green shrubbery was a basketball court. Aomine stopped right by one obscuring bush. Kise stood by the sidelines, yelling words of encouragement and strategy to the six kids on court as they tried to protect the ball from each other and make the score. A small boy by the basket caught the ball and stopped for half a second to look at it and then he turned his attention to Kise and passed him the ball.

"No," Kise chuckled as he caught the ball. "You have to pass to your teammates, Masato."

"Make the goal!" A little girl in an exact replica of Spain's national soccer team's shirt yelled.

"Alright, but this doesn't count." He tossed the ball into the basket without much effort, and the kids went wild. Kise must have felt watched at that particular moment. His gaze wandered past the court and caught Aomine where he stood, partially hidden by the bush. The smile on Kise's face vanished and he looked down onto the ground quickly.

"That's, um, that's all for today, kids."

"Already?" The boy named Masato pouted and pushed his thick glasses up his nose.

"Yeah, I have to get back to work."

The kids gathered their stuff and thanked Kise for today before they left. Kise looked after them as if he didn't want to look back to where Aomine was, and he waved to one of the moms, shifting his weight from one foot to another once he stood alone on the court. It felt odd walking up to Kise. Aomine used to be the one to make Kise smile. There used to be a spark in his eyes reserved only for Aomine, and now he could barely make eye contact.

Kise was in a blue jumpsuit. A white T-shirt was visible under it. There were old stains of automotive oil on his clothes, even on his sneakers. Kise crossed his arms once Aomine stood in front of him and he glanced up at him quickly.

"Hi."

"Hi." Aomine scratched the back of his head nervously. He was sure that he was following the instructions he had been given, but Kise was making him uncertain. "Kasamatsu told me to show up sometime this week or next, so I thought I'd just do that. I didn't get it wrong, did I?" 

"Yeah, no, it's okay. It's just... I didn't think you'd show up…"

"I'm here."

"Um…" Kise dug one hand into his pocket and took out a bunch of folded papers that were held together with a sturdy rubber band. "This'll be quick. I wrote some things down to keep it short and straight to the point…"

It took all of Aomine's self-control to not walk over to Kise and pull him into his arms and hug him tightly, kiss him, and run his fingers through his hair. Fear was there to hold him back. He knew that if he tried to come any closer, Kise would run. It was clear in the way Kise's hands trembled as he unfolded his notes. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Thank you for coming here today. There are some things I'd like to say and I'm grateful that you are willing to hear me out. First of all, I'd like to apologize for everything, mostly for the troubles I caused and for thinking that I had any right to force myself into your life. I was very immature and selfish. I take full responsibility for what I happened, and I'm sorry if I caused you any worries." Kise looked up quickly. "I refer to that night I almost... you know. Kasamatsu told me that you looked for me. I'm sorry about that."

Aomine watched Kise flip through his notes and make quick decisions about what to keep and what not to say. The dull heartbeats in his chest ached every boned in his body at hearing what Kise was saying.  Kise didn't see this as a reconciliation; this was a goodbye.

"If there is anything I need to clarify to anyone in your life in regards to... to past, um, regretful events, I'll be willing to do that. I'd also like to thank you for taking care of me even though you didn't have to. It meant a lot to me."

"Kise," Aomine interrupted.

"I'm almost done."

"No, just stop."

"Honestly, it's less than a page. I have to get back to work soon anyway."

"Stop apologizing." Aomine restrained himself to keep from raising his voice. He took a deep breath and had to rub the sides of his face to gather himself. He had come here for a dialogue.

He was full of questions he needed answered even though he knew that most of his questions couldn't be answered. He still needed to voice them and let Kise know that he cared and that he was upset about their situation. He wanted to do it in a calm and collected manner, but Kise had a natural way of provoking calmness right out of him. "Why didn't you say anything about why your parents kicked you out?"

"That's got nothing to do with this. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry and that I'm thankful and that once we're through here, we'll be through forever, and you can move on knowing that there was no harm, no foul."

"I've got  _nothing_ to do with it?" Aomine asked in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? I was in those photos."

Kise closed his eyes and frowned. "Yes, and you were there because I asked you to be. I got into that situation because  _I_  failed my parents. My dad's hatred for me has nothing to do with you."

"You got pulled in because Hanamiya had a beef with me, Kise!"

"I'm not gonna talk about this. You got your get-out-of-jail card. Take it and go." Kise shoved his notes back into his pocket and turned to leave.

"Kise, we're not done here." Aomine grabbed his arm but Kise quickly pulled away. "You got to say your piece, and I wanna say mine too. Would you at least look at me when I'm talking to you?"

Kise crossed his arms again and kept glaring firmly onto a tree in the distance.

"I know, alright? I know what happened. With Hanamiya." Aomine paused when Kise turned his head away to hide his face away from Aomine completely. "And I'm sorry. Kise. I'm sorry for leaving you alone. For shutting you out. For making you feel like you couldn't come to me."

"It had nothing to do with you." Kise's voice was thick. He quickly ran his arm across his eyes and cleared his throat. "I made my own choices. Are you done? I have to work."

"Damn it, Kise!" Aomine grabbed Kise by his shoulders and shook him slightly in hopes that Kise would look at him. His voice broke. He almost cupped Kise's face, but Kise moved away from him again. He pushed Aomine's hands off of him without a second thought.

"Don't touch me," Kise said under his breath. His lips quivered. His eyes were full of tears on the brink of spilling over his face.

"What I said that night...," Aomine began.

"Stop. I don't want to talk about it!"

"I meant it for you. I was drunk and I shouldn't have been. I didn't expect to see you that night, but there you were... I couldn't let you go, not when I knew that you were leaving. I had been suppressing my feelings for you for so long that, when I finally said them, the wrong name slipped out. It was a stupid, but honest mistake, Kise."

Kise wiped a tear away. He glanced at Aomine's face every now and then in the brief silence, as if trying to deem whether it was safe to trust Aomine or not.

"... why?" Kise asked finally.

"Why? Because it scared me. You know what I was? A nobody. I was at the bottom of the barrel. You were the son of a CEO, a governor. You were going places. It was only a matter of time before you'd leave and go back to your old life, or so I thought." Aomine sighed and took a small step back. "Look, when I got together with Tetsu, I thought that we were 'it.' I was on Cloud Nine and there was nothing that was going to top being with him. When we broke up, I honestly thought that that would be the end of me, so when we got back together, I vowed I'd do everything and anything to stay with him, even though I already had you on my mind. I was sure I was going to get over you, but when it got harder to get you out of my head, I had to do something. So I tried to write over you with Tetsu's name, and I kept reminding myself that Tetsu was my endgame when, really, we had grown apart."

Aomine looked at Kise, studied every feature of his face to properly read every change in his expression as they stood there in silence once more.

"... I... haven't prepared for this," Kise said dumbly with a small gulp.

"Do you believe me?"

"I don't know. I don't…" a soft sob escaped him and he looked away again. "Can we sit?"

"Yeah. Sure," Aomine was quick to reply. There was a bench just a few steps away. Aomine sat down on it, one leg on either side. He watched Kise sit down slowly, wiping tears away quickly with the back of his hand. Aomine didn't say anything and neither did Kise. Kise looked down at his sneakers and seemed to be counting the specks of automotive oil on them.

Silence didn't suit Kise, not now when Aomine wanted to hear every thought passing through his mind. He wanted to be patient, but patience was in low supply, it always had been for him, and Aomine finally broke the silence.

"I don't wanna pressure you into anything by saying what I said. Don't feel like you have to say anything back. It was just one of those things that I had to get off my chest."

"Do you ever think about me?"

Aomine wanted to say 'always', but Kise didn't seem ready to take his word, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out the starmap. He rolled it out carefully. The sound of the paper caught Kise's attention and he looked to his side.

"Orion and his belt are in the opposite direction of The Big Dipper. The guy has two dogs and they're up in the sky right next to him. Canis Major and Canis Minor. Sounds a bit pretentious if you ask me, but then again, the guy stands out because of his belt. His left shoulder has got the weirdest name I've ever seen written down. Betelgeuse. I'm not even sure I'm pronouncing that right. It seems like it's your favorite star though. There are pointers to it on all three starmaps."

Kise stared at the starmap that he had spent so much time on finishing with awe. A small drawn frame of carriages went around the starmap, and Kise reached his hand out to run his fingers against one side of it slowly.

"There was a power outage in my neighborhood a few months back," Aomine began. "It was in the middle of the night. Not a cloud up on the sky. There was no moon either. I went up on the roof with this map in my hand even though I'd memorized them all. And I'm lying there, staring up at sky, really seeing each star that makes up Orion, and I'm thinking to myself, if I could just see you again as clearly as I could see those stars, I'd be the happiest guy alive." Aomine moved his hand closer to Kise's without touching him. "So yeah, I've thought about you a lot, and I don't think that's gonna change anytime soon. Kise, all I want right now is to be in your life in whichever way you'll let me." Aomine paused, looking down on their hands. "Say something."

Kise looked up from the starmap, continuously wiping tears away. He shrugged slightly and let out a soft chuckle that was quickly overtaken by a sob.

"I can't believe you kept them." Kise took a few deep breaths and sniveled. "So… you like me?"

"I love you." Aomine surprised himself by how easy and naturally it rolled off his tongue. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt about how he felt. "I love you, Kise. I don't expect that to make everything okay. I'm just hoping for a chance."

"Okay." Kise nodded slowly.

"Okay?" Aomine tried to hold a smile back, but he was sure that he failed. "Okay. We could go to lunch sometime and just hang out, catch up?"

Something electrified the air at that moment and made at least half of the oxygen vanish because Aomine could swear that he was breathing normally and yet he felt as if there wasn't enough air in his lungs.

"Tomorrow?" Kise asked and the eagerness in his voice did not go by unnoticed. It made Aomine's heart do a backflip in his chest, and he had to stop himself before he leaned in closer.

"Yeah. Tomorrow sounds great. Lunch tomorrow. Do I pick you up?"

"We can meet here."

"Can I call you?"

"I don't give my phone number away willy-nilly."

"Willy-nilly?" Aomine smiled. A riot was taking place in his chest and it only got better when it seemed that Kise was flirting with him.

"Yeah. Willy-nilly."

There was a small smile on Kise's lips that Aomine was dying to taste against his own, but he reminded himself that patience was a virtue that could potentially bring him much more than instant gratification.

"Fair enough. At noon?"

"Okay."

"Great. Tomorrow at noon." Aomine exhaled slowly. "I'll be waiting."

Kise walked away leisurely. Aomine looked after him and didn't even think of leaving until Kise disappeared behind the parked cars across the street. He rolled up the starmap and put it back into his pocket before he lay down on the bench, catching his breath. This conversation had been nothing like he had imagined it would be. He had barely said an eighth of what he had wanted to say, the rest had just come out without much thought, and Aomine was only glad that it had been comprehensible.

A year and a half of waiting was going to culminate in a lunch date, and Aomine couldn't remember the last time he had been this excited for lunch.


	14. Only a Million Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta reader: [Midorima Kazunari](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5477566/)  
> A/N: Thank you so much for sticking with this story until the end! The response I got for this story took me by surprise, and I'm so happy that so many of you have enjoyed it. I also want to thank my beta reader for being amazing. And just, thank you all <3

* * *

 

The past year and a half had been a roller coaster ride of emotions Kise could have done without. Getting away from Hanamiya and Tōō had only been a first small step toward anything resembling normalcy. His normalcy turned out to be feeling gutted most days while hiding from the impending dangers of his past life. Kise didn't get much done during his first two months when he preferred to lay in bed and sleep whenever he could. It was easier to keep memories out of his mind that way. He slept much too deeply to dream.

Kise was given a small apartment down the hall from where Kasamatsu lived. Kasamatsu was good friends with the landlord, but even good friends had a limit to how much they could withstand, and Kise knew that his freeloading would soon become a nuisance. Kasamatsu offered him a job at his workshop as assistant mechanic and with it a new identity. The job became a reason to go outside and not venture too far and risk having Hanamiya find him.

The daily routine of going to work helped Kise get on his feet. It took some time for him to interact with the other three employees, but no one seemed to be in a rush. No one admonished him for sitting quietly beside them on their coffee break while they talked about daily and mundane things. Kise preferred to listen, and he did, until he slowly gained the confidence to make conversation himself. Eventually, his workmates came to miss the time when Kise wasn't prone to conversation.

Time passed, and though there were blows along the way, Kise moved forward, albeit uncertain about his future. Contacting Aomine had been Kasamatsu's idea. They had had long hours of conversation about Kise's need for closure before truly moving on with his life. Kise had reluctantly bought into the idea, finding some sort of comfort in knowing that Aomine would refuse to see him again after everything Kise had put him through.

His legs had almost folded underneath him when he had seen Aomine walk across the lawn between them. Kise had planned a very short conversation where he'd only bring up the underlined things on his list, apologize, and say good-bye. Aomine's plan had been different. The things Aomine had said had ignited a small, cautious ember within Kise that he thought had been extinguished forever. As Kise had gone back to his apartment after their talk, he had struggled with the decision to suffocate that flame once and for all before it burned him.

At five to twelve the next day, Kise crossed the street and made it to the park. He could see the basket behind the small hill that obscured the rest of the court. The tips of his fingers were going cold with the tension settling on his shoulders. It slowly wrapped around his chest the closer to the court he got. Part of it was fear. What if Aomine changed his mind and decided not to show up? The other part felt like hope. It was more frightening than the fear. He had been hopeful before and he had crashed and burned. What if Aomine was there like he said he would be? What if the things he had said were true, but only momentarily? He had said that Kuroko had been his endgame, maybe he still was and Aomine hadn't realized it yet.

Kise wished for that belief to stop him from going any further, but it didn't. He had repeated the memories of their meeting over and over again once he lay in bed, ready to sleep. Night had come and gone and he had still laid there, eyes fixated on the ceiling while he heard Aomine say 'I love you' in his mind for the hundredth time. He was only scared of what would happen to him if Aomine ever decided to throw him away.

Aomine paced on the court. He looked at his watch twice before he decided to look back at the hill. Their gazes locked once Aomine saw him. Kise froze on the spot, unable to look away when Aomine smiled and hurried up to him.

"Hey."

"Hi." Kise wet his lips and quickly averted his gaze when it seemed that Aomine would walk in too close. "Have you been waiting long?"

"No, not really. Where'd you wanna go? I looked up the area and there's a noodle shop two blocks down, looks cozy. There's a diner down that road. It's a bit more to walk, but I think they may have a more varied menu. Are you on your lunch break?"

"Yeah," Kise said. It wasn't entirely true. Technically, he would have been on his lunch break had he been working, but he had asked for the rest of the day off. Kasamatsu hadn't been thrilled with the idea, but a small dance of 'pleases' and stomps had done the trick along with the promise that he wouldn’t venture too far away where he could be recognized.

"Maybe we should go to the noodle shop then. Save some time getting there."

"Let's go to the diner." Kise hid his hands in his pockets and tried to make himself look Aomine in the eye, but he couldn't get past his chin.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"The diner it is."

They dragged their feet to the diner. A walk that would have taken twenty minutes, took almost forty and they didn't even start talking until they were halfway there.

"You work around here?" Aomine asked finally and glanced at Kise from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, at a car repair shop. It's close to the park. Like a ten minute walk."

"A car repair shop?" Aomine sounded surprised.

"We do old cars mostly. Kasamatsu has a guy that provides him with old car parts that are difficult to get nowadays, and people come in with their broken down cars to get them fixed. I'm more of an assistant than an actual mechanic. I haven't really gotten my head around on how all the cars work and what sets them apart and stuff."

"You like it?"

"I think I do. It’s alright. Fun, even, on some days. I've gotten to meet a lot of nice people."

"That's good."

"And you? Are you still at…?"

"No. I've been out for about seven going on eight months now."

"Really?" Kise turned his head to look at Aomine and he smiled at the proud expression on Aomine's face.

"I enrolled in the Police Academy. I've been there for a little over two months now. It's a one-year program and once I'm finished, I'll be working in my own box."

Kise smiled softly at the idea of Aomine in his ‘own box’, which really was a small police office where people could go for help. These ‘boxes’ could be found in every other neighborhood around Tokyo.

"Are you happy?" Kise asked.

Aomine looked back at him with a glint in his eyes, and Kise could feel a blush blossom on his cheeks.

"I am now."

They walked into the diner and got a table in the corner. Kise sat down across from Aomine. He put his hands over his own cheeks to assess whether his blush had gone away in the slightest, but they still felt warm and the only reflective surface around was the napkin holder on the middle of the table. Kise took the menu as soon as he saw it on the table and hid behind it.

"What are you having?" Aomine asked once he had made his decision.

"Onion gratin soup."

"That doesn't sound very good," Aomine said with a small frown.

They ordered and waited for their food in silence. Kise behind the menu, Aomine looking at Kise and waiting for him to put the menu down.

"One onion gratin soup and one Teriyaki burger." The waiter put their plates down in front of them and quickly moved onto next table.

Kise saw Aomine eye his small, picturesque bowl covered in melted cheese. Not everyone had a positive reaction when they heard 'onion soup', but it was just about the best thing in the world, especially on slightly cold days like this one. Kise broke through the thin layer of cheese with his spoon while Aomine ate one fry slowly, seemingly losing interest in his own plate as he watched Kise eat.

"Is it any good?" Aomine asked.

"Very." Kise tried to hold back an amused smile when Aomine froze holding one fry mid-air. He was definitely staring now.

"Can I have some?”

"Are you sure? It's onion soup after all."

For a moment, Kise considered feeding Aomine a spoonful of soup, but instead he pushed the bowl closer to Aomine. Kise didn't see if there was a change in Aomine's expression. He looked down at the table instead until he heard Aomine slide the bowl back to him.

"It's good."

"... yeah."

"Do you still play basketball?" Aomine asked, hoping that this would keep the conversation going.

"It happens."

"You're up for a game later? If we don't make it back before your lunch break's over, I could meet you after you've ended your shift."

"I can't. I, um, I have to save up energy for the weekend. A group of small local business owners have a sports tournament each year and this year it's basketball. I'm on Kasamatsu's team. My knee hasn't been the same since I broke my leg, and I have to be careful... to not strain myself…" Kise looked up from his soup quickly in time to see Aomine sit back, tossing a fry back onto the plate with a small frustrated sigh.

"Can I come and see you play?" Aomine asked after another moment of silence.

People started to pour in for lunch. Their chatter filled the restaurant and Aomine leaned forward to catch Kise's answer.

"Sure. It's out in the open. There are no tickets for it or anything. It's just to advertise the shops around here."

"I'd be there to see you, Kise," Aomine said again to clarify.

Kise pressed his forefinger against crumbs from the croutons around his bowl, making the crumbs even smaller. He pushed himself up to sit straight.

"Okay."

"Look at me," Aomine said with only the slightest hint of fervency in his voice.

"What for?" Kise shuffled his feet under the table until he finally settled with crossing them by his ankles. He decided that he didn't like this feeling of hope. He'd rather continue his life as it had been this past year instead of having to wait for something good to come to its inevitable end.

"Kise…," Aomine began with a sigh, scratching the back of his head.

"No," Kise interrupted with a quick shake of his head. "Why are you here? Why are you doing this? And don't tell me it's because of what you said yesterday. Nothing's changed. I haven't changed. I don't talk as much as I used to, but still enough to get scolded for it. I'm still obnoxious, spoiled, and I cry easily. I wake up early in the mornings. I still have nothing to offer. Nothing. You didn't like it before and you won't like it now." Kise dared to face Aomine and managed to swallow the lump in his throat. "Whatever you think you feel for me, it'll pass. You'll lose interest in me, and that's fine. It's just something that happens to everyone. I'm not endgame material."

"Kise, what the hell are you saying?"

"Don't make me think I'm important to you. I'll believe you, and I don't know what I'll do when you get tired of me again." Kise took a deep shaky breath. He dug into his pocket quickly and put money on the table. "For the soup. I can't do this. I'm sorry."

He heard Aomine get up after him when he ran out of the diner. Kise was further down the road on his way back when Aomine pushed the door open and called after him. Kise kept on walking.

"Kise!" Aomine ran as fast as he could to catch up to Kise before he could get away.

Aomine grabbed him by his wrist and moved to stand in front of him, quickly catching his breath from the sprint.

"Do you want me around, Kise?"

"I don't know!"

"Well, you better figure it out. I'll chase you as long as I need to, until you tell me to stop. Until you can honestly tell me what you feel for me. Kise..." Aomine cupped Kise's face in his hands and gently bumped their foreheads together. "I was never tired of you. I told you, didn't I? I was scared of having you close. I was scared of giving in. Just give me this one day, yeah? This one day to prove to you that I’m serious... Please?”

"What if you're wrong?"

"If I'm wrong, if I've mistaken my feelings for something they're not, I'll owe you that big star you like so much, and I'll bring it to you."

"Betelgeuse?"

"That's right. Betelgoose."

Kise bit at his own lower lip softly and chuckled past a sob.

"What?" Aomine wiped the tears on Kise's face away with his thumbs. The small chuckle turned into a laugh and Aomine smiled with curiosity.

"Betelgeuse is a giant star. If it was in the sun's position, it'd stretch all the way to Jupiter. You'd mess up the whole solar system," Kise laughed harder as he imagined Aomine traveling through the universe and bringing Betelgeuse here with a rope tied around it.

"If that's what it takes," Aomine said softly.

"And it's only got one million years left to live. Our sun will be around for at least another billion years." Kise sobbed again and closed his eyes when Aomine brushed his hair back slightly.

" _Only_ a million years?"

Kise nodded.

"Give me a million years then. Give me a million years to show you that I'm serious about you, about us."

"... w-what?" Kise gulped when he opened his eyes and looked straight into Aomine's.

"And when my million years are up, I'll ask for an extension."

"You're... an idiot..." Kise could feel his cheeks shift red.

"Can I kiss you?" Aomine asked breathlessly. His lips nearly brushed against Kise's.

"Are we still in the middle of the street?"

"Yeah."

"Then no."

"Okay." Aomine nodded slightly and didn't move away. "We've got a million years, right?"

"Yeah."

"How about some ice cream?"

"Ice cream sounds great."

"Can I hold your hand on the way over?"

"Okay."

Kise hoped that the wobble in his knees didn't show when Aomine laced their fingers together. He still felt uncertain about their future, but if worse came to worst, he'd get Betelgeuse out of the deal.

-x-

Darkness had fallen by the time Kise and Aomine got to the car repair shop. Aomine insisted on dropping Kise off at his door to make sure Kise had gotten home safe and sound. It was also an excuse to see where and how Kise had lived during their time apart. Aomine felt an urge to know, to quickly start closing the gap between them by learning subtle things about Kise.

Kise's place on the second floor was at a run-down building on the second floor. It didn't look like much, but Kise seemed happy enough with it. The steps up to the second floor had seen their best days and turned into the closest things to a death trap. Aomine slipped forward and caught himself on his hands when a step moved from underneath his foot. Aomine could hear Kise’s muffled chuckle in the background.

"Sshhh." Kise helped Aomine back up and pulled him in close as he hushed him.

They walked down a balcony corridor that was shared by three households. Kise stopped by the second door and reached for his keys. The temperature had dropped to near zero degrees with the sun gone. Aomine shuddered when an icy breeze blew through and put his arms around Kise's waist to hold him close. He buried his face in the nape of Kise's neck.

"It's cold," Aomine said before Kise had a chance to protest. "Kise?"

"Mm?" Kise unlocked the door and put his keys back into his pocket.

"Can I have a kiss goodnight? Just a small one."

Kise turned around in Aomine's embrace. The tip of his nose and his cheeks were rosy. He looked into Aomine's eyes, his gaze unwavering. They had spent all day together. The start had been bumpy and Kise's uncertainty still came through every now and then, but Aomine had hope. They had laughed together, talked about frivolous things, and they had slowly come together until it seemed like that's how it had always been.

"Do you... want to come in?" Kise asked coyly.

"You sure?" Aomine leaned in close, just barely keeping himself from draping his lips over Kise's.

"To sleep."

The mischievous glint in Kise's eyes put Aomine's self-control to the test. He let out a soft, shaky sigh and nodded.

The apartment was small. The hallway quickly faded into a mixture of bedroom and living room. Kise had an old book case on the right side of the wall, filled to the brim with books and board games. There was a small frame on one of the shelves with a photo of Kise holding a small child on one arm, and his other arm wrapped around the shoulders of a woman. They were on the playground by the basketball court. Kise was smiling weakly, his pale face was streaked with tears. The woman had her hand over Kise's in a comforting gesture, and had managed to smile at the camera.

"That's my sister, Aya," Kise said when he noticed Aomine studying the photo. "And that little guy is my nephew, Toshiyuki. He's a little over a year old. Cute, huh? Kasamatsu and I managed to convince Aya to come for a quick visit. Hanako, the oldest of us three, was gonna come too, but she didn't make it. With Haizaki watching them like a hawk, it just wasn't possible for the two of them to come… it was fun though, seeing Aya again, and to meet my nephew." Kise cleared his throat and tried to smile. "She said she'd come over again. We didn't set a date, but they'll come by." Kise nodded slowly in agreement with himself, glancing at the picture with uncertainty.

"Yeah," Aomine said confidently. "Of course they will."

Aomine looked back at the photo again. He wanted to know everything about Kise. He wanted to ask about his sisters, about the Haizaki guy who apparently had control over what they did, about so many things, but now was not the time. Kise seemed overwhelmed already and Aomine didn't want to pressure him by wanting to sort out everything at once. Instead, Aomine decided to look at the rest of the apartment. Kise's bed took the remaining space between the walls. There were colorful covers on the bed, one regular pillow and a longer, white body pillow. Across from the bed was a small closet built into the wall and next to it a door that led to a bathroom.

Aomine looked around curiously. His attention was caught by the small cactus on the windowsill of the window higher up on the wall behind Kise's bed.

"That is the tiniest plant I've ever‒"

Aomine was interrupted in the only way he would want to be. Kise's hands were cold, that was the first sensation that struck Aomine when Kise cupped his face and brought him in for a near desperate kiss. The next sensations were the softness of Kise's lips, the faint taste of strawberry, the vibration of Kise's small moan. It was maddening. Aomine tilted Kise's head to deepen the kiss. He ran his hands up Kise's back and cupped the back of his head with one hand when it seemed like Kise was going to pull away.

"Ch...airman..." Kise managed to mumble. Aomine broke the kiss against his own will. He was nearly out of breath and in need for much more.

"Why?" Aomine gasped.

"You're getting too worked up. It was just a good night kiss." Kise smiled and bumped the tip of his nose against Aomine's.

"Liar," Aomine mumbled, disgruntled. He flopped onto Kise's bed and hung his jacket by the head of the bed.

Kise walked over to the closet and undressed to change into pajamas. Aomine watched him intently from tip to toe, subconsciously licking his lips when his eyes wandered down Kise's back, lingering by the dimples on his lower back and then slowly taking in the sight of Kise's voluptuous bottom.

"Are you staring?" Kise asked as he buttoned the top of his pajama. He didn't turn around to find out.

"Yeah," Aomine admitted with a small smile on his lips.

Aomine waited for Kise to put the pants on too, but Kise put on a bandana instead to keep his bangs out his face, and walked into the bathroom to wash his face.

"You'll end me at this rate, Kise." Aomine laid down on his side to soak in the sight of Kise's bare legs.

"I have an extra pair of jammies in the closet. There's an extra toothbrush here, too."

Aomine got ready for bed. He thought the best bit would be taking part in Kise's routine, that was until they cuddled up in Kise narrow bed, underneath the multitudes of covers. That was definitely the best bit. Aomine took the opportunity of being so close to place soft kisses on Kise's face, always returning to his lips while he rubbed Kise's lower back slowly.

"You're going low," Kise mumbled against Aomine and snuggled in closer.

"I know." Aomine lowered his hand down Kise's thigh and pinched him suddenly.

"Aominecchi!" Kise giggled and tried to swat Aomine's hand away. "It tickles! We'll wake everyone up. The walls are thin!"

"You finally said my name." Aomine smiled and kissed Kise again. He flattened his hand against Kise's thigh and caressed him slowly. "I'd prefer if you used my first name, though."

"Daiki…," Kise breathed his name against Aomine, still cradling it as if it was the most precious thing to pass his lips, letting it fill every space in his mouth. Aomine soon took the place of his name. He brought Kise close against him, slipping his hands underneath the pajama top while they kissed passionately. He barely stopped himself from taking it further. He had his fingers by the hem of Kise's underwear, right by his hip, ready to pull them down. Kise parted his lips again, moving his hand across Aomine's cheek as he watched him through his eyelashes.

"I'm struggling here, Kise... you have to tell me what you want."

Kise gulped, hesitated, his request on the tip of his tongue until Aomine ran his thumb across his cheek in soothing motions.

“Be my family,” Kise said, closing his eyes while he said it to not lose his nerve. “I… I don’t mean ‘turn into’ my family as in… y’know… don’t be like my sisters−” Kise was about to ramble. His cheeks were shifting red, and he stuttered until Aomine kissed him again.

“I know what you mean, Kise,” Aomine said softly.

“And?” Kise asked with uncertainty.

“And yeah, I’ll be your family.”

"I love you. I love you, Daiki," Kise said in a whisper.

"I know you do. I love you, too. And I've missed you so much."

Kise gazed at him, trembling in his arms, and there was that loving look again. One that Aomine never thought he'd come to miss as much as he had. It was as if Kise had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

"Take me…"

Aomine pressed their hips closer with a shaky breath and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"What about your neighbors? You've got thin walls," Aomine reminded him.

"I don't care."

"You'll care in the morning. We don't have to rush, Kise."

"You really are dull, aren't you?" Kise said and smiled affectionately.

Aomine didn't say anything. He chuckled and took Kise's hand in his to place a soft kiss on his wrist. Kise had been a stranger without a home, hiding and running away from his past life. His father and Hanamiya were still in control of him in a sense. Kise was imprisoned here with people who couldn’t possibly understand what he had gone through. Kasamatsu seemed to get the gist of it, judging by all the help he had offered Kise, help Aomine wished he could have offered instead.

Kise snuggled in closer and put his arm around Aomine’s waist. His breathing evened out slowly as Aomine brushed a blond lock of hair behind Kise’s ear. Aomine sighed softly as he blinked quickly. The relief of finally being here with Kise made his eyes water. This was not only where he was meant to be; it was where he wanted to be. He hadn’t been able to help Kise the way he had wanted to, but Kise had chosen Aomine to bring his heart back from the brink of a bottomless abyss to offer him the one thing he had wished for his entire life: a place to call home.


End file.
